Snow
by oahfoah
Summary: Myka left.  The team has to move on, has to figure out how to continue functioning.  So what do they do when a mysterious stranger makes an extraordinary appearance?
1. While You Were Away

**Disclaimer: No I don't own Warehouse 13. **

**A/N: In my universe, _Reset _and _Secret Santa _are in the same time line. This story takes place between those two episodes. And so there are major spoilers for the end of Season 2. **

**This is a work in progress so I'm not sure when everything will be updated. Stay tuned though. **

**Any and all mistakes are mine. My apologies in advance if you find any.  
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**Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

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Snow

It's been two months. Two months since she left, since Myka left. Pete went after her. Followed her back to Colorado, back to her parents'. Three days later, right before Claudia left to follow them, he returned. He was alone.

The atmosphere in Univille, South Dakota changed as much as the air above it. It got colder. Everyone tried to go on as if nothing happened; Artie continued to find cases and rotated with Claudia as Pete's partner. In two months, Pete spent a total of six days in South Dakota; keep busy, was his motto even when there was nothing to find on his missions. The days he spent at home, one could find him in the stacks of the warehouse, doing inventory without complaint. He tried to keep up his reputation as the jokester but everything was forced.

Artie took on Pete's motto, diving into his work headfirst. The warehouse rarely saw a day or hour without the oldest man. Only Leena could convince him to stop by the B&B regularly, if only to get some sustenance, because she refused to drop off food for him at the warehouse.

Claudia acted the most normal, kept her feelings bottled up inside, for the sake of the team. The only outward difference was the lessening of her sarcastic remarks. Even then, Claudia was pretty sure Leena was the only one that noticed but she never said. It was only in the dead of the night that Claudia let the tears fall silently.

Leena knew. She always knew. With a small glance she could read the auras of the team. Depressed, frustrated, disheartened. It wasn't fair. They had all lost someone important. And Pete, poor Pete lost two of the most important women he's even known in one day. His One, and his best friend.

In the middle of November, on the coldest day on record in South Dakota, the sky parted and the biggest and earliest snowstorm in years occurred. Four feet in the same amount of time. Claudia could have almost swore an artifact was at play but Artie shot down the idea by reminding them all of a certain pair of inside-out pajama pants Pete and Myka obtained roughly six months ago. This made Pete wish it were an artifact, if only so he could get away from the Bed and Breakfast and his mind off of his former partner.

The snowstorm had come after Claudia had convinced Pete and Artie to stay at the B&B to have a Harry Potter marathon. Well, a three-movie-athon, really. They only agreed to watch the first half. Pete said they act better in the first movies. Claudia knew he didn't want to see the romance. It was a miracle Artie even said yes. Or rather, shrugged and grumbled but in the end, sat down on the couch.

So the four of them, Pete, Claudia, Leena, and Artie, sat down with their popcorn and freshly made cookies and enjoyed the first movie in silence. The second one was interrupted by occasional commentary about the special effects. Occasional soon turned to constant and eventually, before the credits even rolled, Artie had enough and turned to leave. But when he opened the door, he stared in shock for a full minute before the others came to see why the door hadn't closed yet.

Artie took a few small steps onto the covered porch. The others slowly followed.

"What?" Pete was the first to recover, although he did nothing more than gape at the four feet of snow just a meter in front of him.

After another few moments, Claudia clapped Artie and Pete on their shoulders, "So, how about number 3?"

Ten minutes later, the four of them were stationed once again on the couch with _Prisoner of Azkaban_ playing on the large television but no one was really paying attention. Each was lost in their thoughts.

Artie wanted nothing more than to return to the safety of the warehouse. Pete tried desperately to not think about Myka. Only his train of consciousness couldn't be derailed by anything. Claudia didn't know what to do. No one expected the snowstorm and she was slightly worried about being stuck in the same place for a considerable amount of time. Leena thought that it might help; it might force them to talk and heal.

It was near the end of the movie when it happened. Roughly the point when Harry yells "Expecto Patronum!" to ward off the horde of Dementors. That was when the Bed and Breakfast was flooded with white light.

A brief thought floated across Claudia's mind – the spell seeped from the TV into reality. But when the light lasted longer than the spell on the TV, when wind whipped her hair into her face, when Artie yelled for them all to get down, she realized something was wrong.


	2. Bailey

Artie grabbed Claudia's arm and dragged her to the ground. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Pete do the same to Leena. The four of them stayed on the ground, blinded by the bright light, deaf by the roaring winds, until what felt like an eternity later, when everything ended as quickly as it came. Even then, even with the light and the wind gone, no one moved. Not until the last piece of debris hit the ground did Artie finally stir.

"Stay here," he voice was gruff, as he slowly rose to his feet. Pete followed him, just as slowly and even though she couldn't see, Claudia could imagine the looks exchanged between the two: Artie's annoyance rebuffed by Pete's almost desperate plea to be helpful.

Hesitantly, the two of them looked around. They took in the mess the wind had made. Books and papers in every crevice of the room. The lamps from the end tables lay broken on the floor. All the odds and ends the B&B had collected in the past few years lay in shambles among the rest of the debris.

Artie made eye contact with Pete. "Be careful."

Pete nodded and the two left the safety of the couch to search in opposite directions. Once the two exited the living room, Claudia poked her head up and assessed the damage.

"What the hell was that?" Claudia asked to no one in particular.

Leena merely shook her head. But then cringed and put her hand up to her head.

Claudia noticed and moved to crouch next to the older woman, "Are you okay? Did anything hit you?"

"No, I'm fine. But something…" Leena glanced up and looked about the room, "Claudia, something is wrong."

"Artie!" Pete's voice rang out from the dining room, startling Leena and Claudia. Artie shuffled from his inspection of the foyer toward the dining room and the two girls also followed his frantic call.

The girls entered the dining room behind Artie. Artie stopped right inside the doorway, looking around the empty room. "Pete?" he asked.

Not a second later, Pete answered, "Artie, over here," his head popped above the other side of the table, "over here."

The three of them raced to the other side of the table to see why Pete was on the floor.

"Pete, what's-" Artie cut off at the sight before him.

Pete was on his knees, bent over a young woman sprawled out on the floor. A young unconscious woman. She was lying on her side with one arm lying awkwardly behind her back and the other reaching out in front of her. She was wearing black chucks, jeans, and a white hooded shirt that had black sleeves – like a baseball shirt. The shirt had an odd pattern of red spots and lines on it and it wasn't until Pete said she still had a pulse that Claudia realized the red spots weren't originally part of the fabric.

Pete was clutching onto the girl's outstretched hand and everyone could tell he was near panicking underneath his cool demeanor. Leena sprang into action, checking the girl's forehead and grazing over the open wounds on her arms and torso with her hand, gauging the seriousness.

"Claudia, get me the first aid kit. Now," Leena ordered Claudia, who ran out of the room in search of the much used kit.

Pete brushed some of the girl's brown hair out of her face and nearly laughed in relief when her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey, hey, you're going to be alright," Pete said in a soft voice. He lowered his head until he was nearly level with the girl. He noted her hazel eyes but his heart ached when he realized they were glassy with pain. "Hey, can you tell me your name? Do you remember?"

Above him, he registered Claudia's return with the kit and Leena grab some antiseptic solution and bandages to clean the girl's wounds and slow the bleeding.

His attention turned back to the girl as she moved her lips trying to make words. After a few tries and tears later, the girl finally uttered two words that Pete barely caught over the movement of his friends. She breathed, "You're out." And then her eyes closed.

Avoiding the abrasions on her face, Pete carefully slapped the girl's cheeks, trying to wake her again but to no avail. He finally backed away so Leena could administer the right medical aid with Claudia's help.

Standing, Pete glanced around and found Artie missing. "I'll be right back," Pete mumbled to the busy women and left the room.

It wasn't long until he found the older man, pacing in the living room, muttering to himself.

Pete entered the room and after a second, he opened his mouth, "Artie, what the hell are- how did she – why are you –" Pete stumbled over his words, too many questions running in his head and his boss's pacing wasn't helping. Artie's continual stroking of his beard and movement told Pete he hadn't heard a thing. So Pete took a breath and stepped into Artie's path, "Artie!"

Artie didn't flinch and nearly ran into Pete when he turned around but once he finally met the younger man's eyes, Pete continued, "What the hell just happened?"

Artie stared at Pete for a few moments, seeing the uneasiness shine through, before he broke the gaze and walked around the man, muttering, "I don't know."

Pete turned to continue his stare at Artie, "What do you mean? It's has to be an artifact."

Artie laughed mirthlessly, "Of course it's an artifact. What else could it possibly be?... I just don't know which one. Nor do I know where she came from, why she's here, or who she is. Okay? I just don't know, Pete." Artie sat heavily on an armchair, clasping his hands together in front of him.

Pete had never seen Artie so helpless. He turned back to the direction of the hurt girl, picturing her prone figure lying on the floor. He closed his eyes tightly and turned back towards Artie, "That doesn't matter right now. We have to get her to the hospital." He opened his eyes when Artie scoffed.

"And how do you expect us to get through that!" Artie pointed at the window, referencing the white mass blocking everything out and in.

"Well, don't you – I don't know, don't you have some sort of snow melting artifact in your Mary Poppins bag?" Pete gestured to the black bag sitting at Artie's feet.

Artie stared at the bag, and sighed, "No, Pete, I don't."

Pete sat heavily on the couch, "We have to do something."

Pete and Artie heard soft steps enter the room, "Pete, Artie," it was Claudia. They both turned and Pete almost winced when he saw the blood on Claudia's clasped hands. "Leena thinks she is okay to move."

Pete nodded at Claudia's unasked question and without looking at Artie, he stood. Pete followed Claudia back into the dining room and heard Artie moving behind him.

Leena was now crouching near the girl's head, caressing her hair. Leena and Claudia had moved her to lie on her back. Some of her cuts, what Pete assumed were the more serious ones, were wrapped in white cloth, but the blood was already seeping through. Her left arm – the one that was awkwardly underneath her back at first – was wrapped in a makeshift sling.

Seeing Pete's eye line, Leena answered, "I'm pretty sure it's broken. Didn't break the skin or anything but near enough."

Swallowing, Pete carefully picked the girl up, Leena supporting her head into the crook of Pete's arm, "Where should we put her?" he asked.

"I was thinking my room," Claudia offered, "it's closest to the stairs. And a bed's more comfortable than the couch."

"I'll get her some medicine and some water," Leena said as she left for the kitchen. Artie offered to help. Pete nodded and headed up the stairs. Claudia ran up first and opened the door before clearing off her bed of her computer and random pieces of clothing. Then she pulled back the covers.

Pete laid the girl down on Claudia's purple sheets. He put the sheets over her, careful of her arm, and backed away to stand next to Claudia. Neither knew what to do now so they just stood in silence. The girl's breathing was labored and she was starting to sweat.

Pete couldn't help but feel useless. When he started looking for the source of the wind and light, finding a broken woman who was probably only Claudia's age was the last thing on his mind. A small moan was what drew his attention to the kitchen and he wanted to smack himself for wasting the time he did in just staring. As a warehouse agent he has seen crazy things so he shouldn't have been so freaked out, but he was. His wasted time probably wouldn't have changed anything but the knowledge did anything but calm him. He called to Artie before he even reached the girl. His heart skipped a beat when he realized how hurt she was, with a barely recognizable pulse. As helpless as he was and felt, he never would have thought Artie would be the one to leave the room first. Even now, he was downstairs supposedly helping Leena when Pete knew he was probably only getting in the way, if he wasn't back pacing in the living room.

_At least he is trying to figure out how to get us out of here_, a voice somewhere in the depths of Pete's mind reminded him.

"I wish we knew her name," Claudia said quietly.

Pete turned his head to look at the young girl. Claudia was still staring at the unconscious form in front of her, her arms wrapped around herself. She was obviously worried. He merely nodded and turned back to the girl.

"I wish we knew what happened," he said equally as quiet.

A few minutes later, soft but hurried footsteps on the carpet announced the arrival of Leena and Artie, who was holding a small glass of water and a bottle of pills, Pete noticed.

"Any change?" Leena asked even though she already knew the answer. Pete and Claudia shook their heads and separated to let Leena get closer to the girl.

Leena pulled out a needle, "morphine," she said simply, as if sensing Pete and Claudia's confusion. Leena found a vein in the girl's right arm and injected the liquid painkiller.

"It's the only one we have," Artie said from behind everyone. "After that, she needs to wake up to take the pills." He shook the bottle halfheartedly.

Leena sat back up and stood near everyone else. Artie moved forward and placed the water and pills on a bedside table. With an inaudible sigh, he turned and left. Pete followed him out. Claudia glanced at Leena and both of them left the room, leaving the door open to allow easier access should the girl awake.

Down in the living room, Artie was pacing again; Pete looked like he wanted to join him but stuck with crossing his arms and standing stock still, watching Artie with his eyes.

Neither gave notice to the two girls' entrance. Claudia went to sit on the armchair Artie used earlier while Leena stayed between Pete and the dining room, as if shielding him from the bad memories associated there.

A few minutes passed in silence and then Claudia spoke up, "So. Ideas?" She looked around at each of them, Leena being the only one who made eye contact.

No one answered right away either. Leena finally spoke, "Well, it had to be an artifact, right?"

"Yeah," Claudia agreed, encouraged by someone else talking. "I mean, white, blinding light and tornado-like winds inside a house isn't exactly normal. So it has to be an artifact." She ended, hoping someone else would carry on where she left off. But when neither Pete nor Artie changed in the slightest, she stood up, "Look. Just so you know collective brainstorming doesn't work if you don't say what's on your minds. Give ideas, out loud. And then maybe, I don't know, someone else can build off of it and before we know it, hey, we have the answer why there is a random girl lying in my bed, half-dead." Claudia would have smiled in pride when Pete glanced her way and moved his hands to his pockets and Artie stopped moving if she weren't so annoyed at the moment.

"How about you start?" Artie said to the wall. Claudia, Pete, and Leena all moved their confused gazes to Artie's back. Artie turned around and looked straight at Claudia, "give us some ideas."

Claudia narrowed her eyes at Artie's attitude but shook it off. "Alright, um, it snowed. A lot. Are you sure that isn't somehow connected to the mysterious girl showing up?"

"No." Artie said simply.

"No?" Claudia asked when her mentor refused to elaborate.

"No, Claudia. I don't know. I don't have the warehouse computers at my disposal. I can't check anything. I'm pretty sure there aren't any weather artifacts that cut up a girl and drop her in a random house in a white light but I can't be sure. Nor can we go out and look because there's a four foot tall wall of snow in our way."

Claudia pursed her lips, reigning in her frustration with Artie's condescending tone. Usually, she could take it, but right now it was ebbing at her. She ran her hands through her red hair for a few moments and then a light bulb went off. "Wait," she looked at Leena, "you said something felt off, something was wrong, before we even found the girl."

All sets of eyes darted to Leena as her brow furrowed in concentration while she tried to recall the strange feeling. "It was weird. I've never felt it before. Even now, it's not as strong, but when she first came here, it was as if…"

"As if what?" Pete prompted.

Leena sighed and looked at Artie, "as if she doesn't belong here. I mean, she's not supposed to be here. Now."

"What do you mean 'now'?" Claudia asked, "what, like, time-wise?"

"What? Like she time-traveled or something?" Pete said with a hint of disbelief in his voice.

Leena shrugged, "it's the best way I can explain it. I can't really tell you what her aura looks like but all I know is she… she looks like she is about twenty years old right?"

Pete and Claudia nodded.

"Well, I'm almost one hundred percent sure is she wasn't born twenty years ago," Leena finished.

Everyone was silent while the news sunk in. Pete and Claudia both sat down.

"Well, maybe she is seventeen," Pete said to no one in particular.

"Pete…" Leena started.

"She from the future or the past, you think?" Claudia asked, ignoring Pete's comment.

"Future, by the looks of her clothing and hairstyle," answered Artie before he started pacing once again.

Silence fell over the group again. Everyone thinking of the last time they dealt with someone from the wrong time.

H.G. Wells. But she was from the past, not the future, Claudia's mind argued. And had been bronzed so no one could say she was perfectly right in the head.

Nevertheless she manipulated her way into the warehouse team's hearts and Myka left because of it. No one would ever forgive H.G.

But other than showing up hurt and becoming a burden emotionally and mentally to the team, this girl had done nothing to them. Nothing other than using an artifact, to make them suspect her sanity.

Claudia looked up, "so what do we do now?"

"Help her," Pete answered almost immediately, staring at the floor.

Artie stopped pacing and looked at the team, "Pete's right. We do what we can to help her. Leena?" He looked at her; she nodded and went up the stairs to Claudia's room. "I'll call Mrs. Frederic and see about the snow. Claudia, try and get into the warehouse from your laptop to search for something to help. And Pete…" he trailed off as he looked between Pete and Claudia.

"Yeah," Pete said before he stood up. Claudia stood too and with one last look at Pete, went to her room to get her computer. Artie left as Pete started picking up the pieces of paper and books that were thrown around the room earlier.

Artie let everyone know a few minutes after they split that Mrs. Frederic was 'working on the transportation and snow' thing and Claudia glumly informed them that the storm must have damaged the internet source so her computer was practically useless. With a defeated sigh, Claudia began helping Pete clean up.

A few hours later, the Bed and Breakfast was beginning to look how it did at the start of the day, minus a few lamps and other small, fragile, things. Pete went up to switch places with Leena, saying he wanted to give her a break, and Leena went downstairs to clean up the dining room – the last room to be cleared.

Claudia was sitting at the foot of the stairs in thought when a groan caught her attention. Not knowing what else to do, she made her way towards her room. When she entered, she realized the girl's breathing was shallower and more labored than before. Pete was wiping sweat from her brow with one hand and holding her hand in his other.

Claudia got closer to help Pete in any way she could and saw Pete wincing.

"Pete, what's wrong?" Claudia asked. But soon realized the girl's hold on Pete's hand was practically a death grip. The girl's eyes were shut tight and her whole body was tense.

"I guess the morphine wore off, huh?" Pete smiled through clenched teeth.

Claudia couldn't help but return a small smile, "Do you want me to…?" She glanced at their tight grips, not sure exactly what she could do but figured she would ask anyway.

Pete shook his head, "If you could just," he gave her the cloth so he could use his other hand to loosen the girl's grip slightly. Pete exhaled deeply as his hand began to regain feeling.

Claudia folded the cloth and continued to dab at the girl's face. Suddenly the girl gasped and relaxed considerably. A few moments later her eyes opened but Claudia could tell she wasn't quite aware of her surroundings.

Claudia glanced at Pete but he wasn't paying any other attention than to massaging his hand. She looked back down to the girl and found her eyes staring at Claudia, no, through Claudia.

"Hi, can you tell me your name?" Claudia asked anyway. Pete looked at Claudia like she was crazy before he realized who she was talking to. "I'm Claudia."

The girl's eyes narrowed slightly, trying to focus. Claudia pointed to Pete and tried again, "This is Pete. What's your name?"

Claudia reached over to the side table and grabbed the glass of water. It wasn't until the glass was at the girl's lips did her gaze change. She swallowed a few gulps and Pete coaxed her into taking two pills also. Once the glass was empty, the girl finally spoke, her voice raspy and barely audible but the other two heard it.

"Bailey."

Pete and Claudia shared a small smile and Pete asked the next question, "Bailey, hey," Pete grinned again when she glanced at him, "any chance you can tell us what happened?"

The girl didn't answer and instead closed her eyes. Claudia, desperate, clutched Bailey's hand and she slowly opened her eyes again.

"Please," Claudia pleaded.

Bailey looked at Claudia for a few seconds before wincing in pain. "Hurts…" she mumbled.

Claudia squeezed Bailey's hand ever so slightly, "I know, I'm sorry. We are trying to figure this out but we need your help. Please, tell us how you got here," but Bailey had already lost consciousness.

Claudia bowed her head in frustration and Pete put his hand on her shoulder to console her. She sighed and then frowned as she felt heat come from Bailey's wrist. She raised her head slightly and noticed a tattoo that was slowly fading from white to skin color – only off a bit, almost like a scar. The design had tendrils branching off of a main stem that went all the way around her wrist.

"Okay, that's new," Pete said, seeing the same thing. "We should tell Artie."


	3. Three Strikes

Claudia went to retrieve Artie and inform him of what they found out on their way back up the stairs. Pete stayed with Bailey in the meantime, assuming it would be fine. But instead, less than a minute after Claudia left, Bailey's body started to tense up and she made quiet moans, as if in a nightmare. Pete tried to reassure her as best he could, but refused to hold Bailey's hand again, for fear he would surely lose it this time. Instead he shushed her and rubbed her arm lightly.

"How is she?" Artie's voice startled but visibly relieved Pete.

He turned his head and took in the other three's presence. "Other than her minute of consciousness and nightmares? The usual."

"Nightmares?" Claudia asked, frowning.

"Yeah," Pete answered and turned back to the still tense young woman.

Claudia moved forward and kneeled by the bed. They all took in her stressed face, the sweat pouring off it, and her tightened muscles.

"You said you gave her the pills, right?" Artie asked Claudia as he too moved toward the girl, taking up his position on the other side of the bed.

"Yeah, I gave her the glass of water and Pete got her to take the pills. Artie what's happening?" said Claudia.

"Uh, well, I just-" Artie started but cut off at the sight of the girl relaxing once again. Her face wasn't completely at peace but the rest of her body visibly slumped.

"Guess the nightmare ended," Leena stated.

A few moments passed in silence as each team member gazed at the confusing girl lying before them. Then Pete spoke up, confusing everyone even more. "I don't think she likes me."

A few more moments passed in silence before Claudia scoffed but Artie asked in a very serious tone, "What do you mean?"

Pete glanced at Claudia then answered, "Well, I mean, it's probably stupid but every time I'm alone with her she freaks out. But then if all of you are here, even just Claudia, she's fine. Or you know, not… freaking out…" Before anyone could put in their two cents, Pete continued, "Or it could have been the timing. Right?"

Pete, Claudia, and Leena all looked at Artie while he stroked his goatee in thought. "It could have been the timing. But since this is an unknown artifact, with unknown powers, it could be anything. I don't think it's likely but maybe, just maybe, she, like you said, doesn't like you, Pete."

"Just my luck," Pete mumbled under his sigh.

Artie cleared his throat and pointed to Bailey's wrist before the awkward silence could escalate.

"There's a tattoo right?"

Claudia nodded and held up Bailey's right wrist slightly. Artie moved around the bed; Pete got up to get out of the way so Artie could have a better look.

"It looks more like a scar now but earlier it was almost white and emitting heat," explained Claudia. Artie laid the girl's hand back down gently. "What do you think?"

"Honestly? I've never heard of an artifact leaving a mark like this on a victim." Artie stood back to his full height. "We've all seen burn marks and scars caused by artifacts but never any that change color and emit heat even when not in contact with the object anymore."

Artie rubbed his eyes, "I need to do research. Computer's still out?" he asked Claudia. She nodded her head. "Alright, it's getting late. I need to make a call to Mrs. Frederic. You all should get some sleep. Claudia, you can sleep in –"

"No it's okay," Claudia said quickly, fearing Artie's offer of Myka's room, or worse H.G.'s. "I can sleep here. And you'll also have someone to look after Bailey. No problem."

A moment's hesitation passed before Artie agreed. "Come and get me if anything happens. Alright? Anything."

"Roger," Claudia mock saluted and ignored Artie's eye roll. The older three slowly made their way out of her room each reminding her that they were only two doors away should she need anything.

Claudia debated for about five minutes where to sleep. At first she thought she could share the bed with Bailey but didn't want to risk further injury to her should Claudia toss and turn during the night. And on the off chance Bailey woke up sometime during the night, seeing another girl sleeping in the same bed as her might not end with the best results. In the end, Claudia decided to pull her lounge chair near the head of the bed and stretch out as best she could. Her chair was one of the most comfortable places to sit, not necessarily the best for lying down and sleeping. Still, seeing the hall light go out, Claudia settled under her down comforter with her legs stretched out in front of her and glanced over to Bailey.

Bailey's head had turned sometime during Claudia's deliberation and was now facing the other girl. She was still frowning but she wasn't sweating as much and her breathing had almost evened out. Out of shear inspiration, Claudia reached out of her comforter and rested her hand on Bailey's uninjured one. Bailey's frown instantly relaxed and Claudia gave a little smile. Maybe all she needed was reassurance that someone else was there, Claudia thought before she was lost to the dream world.

_Claudia couldn't remember getting up at all but when she looked around, she was definitely in the living room of the Bed and Breakfast. Everything looked as it did before, nothing was broken, and there were even a few things in the room Claudia had never noticed. She was sitting on the couch with her computer in front of her. On the screen were two pictures, side by side, of nearly identical bracelets. One was white and the other black but they both had the same design. It looked familiar to Claudia but she couldn't place it. She leaned closer to the computer but everything started to blur. She blinked a few times but it didn't change so she gave up and decided maybe she hadn't gotten enough sleep. _

_Claudia stood to go to her room but stopped when she heard the front door open. Not a second later Claudia ducked as the wall across from her burst into pieces. Recovering quickly Claudia realized a person was what caused the wall to explode - a person being thrown through it, that is. Claudia made her way to the person coughing on the ground. It was a girl and she was gingerly getting to her feet when Claudia reached her. Her clothes looked familiar to Claudia too but she couldn't get a good look because a voice from behind her drew her attention._

"_Give me the bracelet!" A deep, angry voice demanded. Claudia saw a huge, strong man standing before her. She couldn't see his face, for some reason it was shrouded in darkness but she just knew he was pissed._

"_What are you talking about?" Claudia yelled back, keeping herself between the dark monster and the hurt girl. _

_The man roared and advanced on Claudia. Her and the girl behind her back stepped until they reached the other wall. The monster continued to stalk them and stopped one foot away. He reached his huge hand out, "give it to me!"_

_Claudia felt the girl behind her flinch. She couldn't deny she was scared too but her stubborn streak refused to let her fear show. "I told you, I don't know what you are talking about."_

_The monster moved his hand back but right before he could strike, Claudia heard a familiar voice yell from behind the monster, "Hey Ugly!"_

_Not a second after the monster turned, it was hit by a Tesla blast. Claudia took the chance to move the girl away from the wall and monster. They made it about halfway toward their savior when Claudia realized the monster was barely affected by the Tesla. If anything, it made the thing angrier, hence the huge, raging roar it gave._

_Claudia turned to face the beast right as it extended its left arm toward the opposite room and Claudia watched in shock as a black beam left its arm and impacted the chest of her brother. _

"_Joshua!" Claudia yelled as the other girl screamed, "No!"_

_Joshua was sent off his feet and into the side of the staircase, destroying part of the railing along with him. He lay awkwardly on the stairs and didn't get up._

_Claudia wanted more than anything to help her brother but the monster had turned its sights back on the two girls. Even though Claudia couldn't see his face, she knew he was smirking in satisfaction, she could feel it. Anger coursed through her veins and she wanted to do things to that beast that if she ever told anyone aloud would probably end her back in Mellinger's. _

_The beast began stalking its prey once again. Claudia didn't know what to do, if a Tesla didn't work, not that she had one on her at the moment, then she didn't know what would. Her only choice was to stall and then run when the opportunity presented itself. _

_Taking a deep breath, Claudia stared at the huge dark monster. "Look, look, just, tell me what it looks like and I'll help you find it, okay? What does it look like?"_

_The monster didn't even hesitate in its advance on the two girls. The closer it got the more desperate and hot Claudia got. "Hey! I'm talking to you. Why are you looking for this bracelet?"_

_Still the monster didn't answer and now it was close enough that Claudia could feel the heat from in front and behind her. Momentarily confused, Claudia didn't see the monster's arm as it made a sweep and knocked her over a table and on the ground. Groaning, Claudia did a mental check of herself, a few scrapes and bruises but she would be fine. Looking up, Claudia could see the girl she had tried to protect in full view. It was Bailey. She looked exactly the same as before, same clothes with all the same cuts, bumps, and nearly broken left arm, the only difference being she was awake and on her feet. For now._

_The monster reached out and picked Bailey up by her throat like she was a rag doll. He moved his head so it was the only thing Bailey could see and yelled into her face, "Give me the bracelet!"_

_Bailey flinched and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and with tears falling, she opened her eyes and said in amazingly calm voice, "No." _

_Claudia gasped, both at her tone and at the sight of her eyes. They were pure white. _

_"She has it," Claudia whispered to herself in awe. She wasn't even sure what was going on but she knew. Bailey had the bracelet. And she was using its powers. _

_The monster was only enraged more by Bailey's defiance. It moved impossibly closer to Bailey. "Fine," it said and in one stroke pulled Bailey away from the wall and pushed her back into it. The wall broke at the force and Claudia heard Bailey's body hit the floor when the monster released her. Without another glance, the monster made its way to where Claudia still laid on the floor. _

"_You won't give me the bracelet? Then I'll just kill everyone you love," the monster said in a calm voice that sent shivers down Claudia's spine. She never thought she would think it but she preferred when the thing was yelling. _

_Claudia made it to her feet a few steps before the monster was on her and with a look at the barely moving Bailey, Claudia made a run for it. _

_To her dismay, she didn't get far before what she assumed was the monster's secret weapon – the black beam – hit Claudia square in the back, forcing her into the wall near where Joshua still lay unconscious. _

_Doing another mental check, this time starting dizzily, Claudia guessed she had a concussion and more damage to her body that she didn't want to think about anymore. She rolled over to her back and found the dark monster standing over her. He was smiling again. Claudia hated that. _

_He picked her up with one hand but lost his balance and dropped Claudia unceremoniously back to the floor. Claudia banged her leg, hard, and doubted she would be able to get back up. She instead turned her gaze back to the monster who was now facing away from her. Towards Bailey. _

_This time the monster laughed. And evil, menacing, annoying laugh. Claudia decided she really hated that. _

"_You can't control it. You will lose," the monster barked. _

_Bailey was standing in the middle of the living room; her bright eyes drawing Claudia's attention away from the rest of Bailey's beaten and bloody body. Bailey didn't respond with any words, instead she struck out her right hand and a similar beam flew from her hand toward the monster, only hers was white. Claudia smiled but it was quickly erased when the monster merely waved his hand and his dark power stopped the white beam before it made contact. _

_The monster chuckled, "my turn." He used his power to attack Bailey with lightning fast speed. Bailey raised her hands to defend herself. The power pushed her back into the dining room but she remained standing. But Claudia didn't think she could do it again because Bailey was now holding her left arm against her body. It would hurt her too much to try and use it. Claudia was proved right when the monster attacked again and this time Bailey jumped out of the way. The wall behind her exploded into pieces. _

_Claudia gasped as the monster took his opportunity and ran over to Bailey. She used her power to create a shield in front of herself but it was no use against the repeated blows the monster dealt. Too soon her power broke and the monster had Bailey against the wall with one hand on her throat. "One more time, give it to me!" he roared._

_The monster reached for Bailey's right hand and grabbed at the white bracelet. Bailey's screams and the monster's roars melded into one until a white blast knocked the monster back and Bailey fell to the ground once more. _

_A few silent moments passed, Claudia almost let herself believe the monster was knocked out. _

"_Claudia."_

_Claudia jumped when the raspy voice of her brother broke the silence. _

_"Joshua," she whispered back. She tried to get up but it was no use. Her leg was really messed up so she had to drag herself toward her brother. "Joshua, I'm here," she said when she reached him. He was still lying on the ground, obviously hurt, but at least he was awake._

"_What happened?" he rasped._

_Claudia looked at the destroyed Bed and Breakfast. "I don't know," she answered._

_A chuckling ended the conversation between the two. It was the monster. He was getting to his feet and to Claudia's horror, he had a white bracelet clutched in his left hand. Bailey was still laying on the ground, her back to Claudia so she couldn't tell if she was okay or not. _

"_At last," the monster said. He held the bracelet in front of him, inspecting it. Then he laughed again. Claudia hated it. She hated him. She hated that he hurt Joshua and Bailey. She hated that he destroyed the B&B. She hated that he is probably super powerful now, with both bracelets. And she hated that she couldn't do anything about it since her leg was not cooperating._

"_What?" the monster's confused yell drew Claudia from her silent venting. She glanced up at the monster and noticed with glee that the bracelet was disintegrating. Very slowly, piece by piece, the bracelet turned to white sand that made its way through the fingers of the crazed man and onto the floor. "No!" he yelled in disbelief._

_It was Claudia's turn to laugh. She wasn't sure exactly what happened. But the fact that this man – thing – didn't get his way was enough to cause Claudia to nearly cheer. She turned her smile toward Joshua but when he didn't return the smile, hers slowly faded._

"_Joshua?" she questioned. He turned his gaze toward the monster. The monster was facing Claudia and her brother but Claudia soon realized that wasn't what Joshua was staring at. Behind the huge monster was the girl, Bailey. Her eyes were aglow, bright white, and it was as if every vein in her body was bleached white as well. The power was coursing through her small frame. _

_The monster turned and immediately used his dark power to attack Bailey. But it looked like the tables had turned; now it was Bailey who was shrugging off the monster's attacks. The monster sent beam after beam toward the girl but nothing mattered. She easily blocked each and every one. The monster moved forward with each new attack but still it did nothing. Finally he was close enough to punch and kick but Bailey, as hurt as her body looked, blocked all of his efforts._

_It seemed she had enough of defending herself and with one swift move, was on the offensive. The monster tried to block as much as he could but Bailey found an opening and exploited it. With the help of her power, she punched his face, disorienting him and ended it with a roundhouse kick that sent him clear across the room. Bailey didn't move from her spot in the dining room. She just waited. The monster fell a few feet in front of Claudia and Joshua. He was hurting but still able to fight. _

"_Bailey! Stop!" Joshua yelled suddenly, trying to sit up._

_Claudia turned to face her brother and noticed the frantic expression on his face. _

"_You beat him! Now stop!" Joshua pleaded with the girl. _

"_Joshua, what's happening?" Claudia asked her brother._

_He didn't take his eyes off of Bailey, "it's too late. She can't control it anymore."_

_Bailey took no notice of Joshua and Claudia, instead addressing the monster as he slowly got to his feet. _

"_Your first mistake was putting the bracelet on me. Your second was threatening my family. Your last mistake was thinking I wouldn't use the power." _

_Bailey raised her arms slightly and it was as if her power increased by a hundred. It was spilling out of nearly every pore. A wind had developed from nowhere whipping all of their hair around their faces._

"_That's three strikes," Bailey informed the monster before a powerful white light lifted her a foot off the ground and she closed her eyes in pain. _

_Everything was blowing around them, white light washed out everything. The monsters screams were barely heard over the howling wind. Claudia lifted a hand to block out the brightest light. She felt her other be grabbed and squeezed by Joshua. They shared a smile and everything went white._

Claudia woke with a start. The first thing she noticed was she was sweating. The second was that she was on the floor. She quickly moved to a sitting position and felt her leg. It was still intact, not at all in pain, other than the awkward angle at which she fell asleep. She finally raised her head and was face to face with Bailey. She was still unconscious and sweating. Claudia looked at her wrist and it was shinning white again, and emitting heat.

Ten seconds later, Artie and Pete burst in the door, talking over each other.

"What? What is it? What's wrong?"

"What's going on? Are you okay?"

Claudia stared at the two in shock for a few moments then moved out of the way and pointed at Bailey's still glowing wrist, "look."

The men did as they were told. Artie even reached out and ran his fingers over the light, not quite touching, but close enough to feel the heat radiating off it.

Pete looked at the red head still sitting on the floor. She was sweating as much as Bailey and looking very pale, even for her. "Claud, what happened?"

Claudia took a moment to tear her gaze from Bailey's wrist, "what do you mean?"

"You were yelling. Screaming," answered Artie.

"Uh," Claudia closed her eyes and tried to remember the fading details. "Bad dream."

"Are you okay?" Pete asked.

Claudia took a deep breath but didn't open her eyes, "Yeah, it's just… I don't know. It was weird. It was like a dream but it felt real. Like a memory. And when I woke up," her eyes opened but she stared at the floor, "Bailey's wrist was glowing. It couldn't have just been a dream."

Artie and Pete shared a worried look. Pete sat down next to Claudia and Artie sat at the foot of the bed. "Do you remember any of it?"

Claudia closed her eyes again and pushed the palms of her hands into her eyes. Dots appeared in her vision as she tried to recall the dream. "I was in the B&B. Someone was at the door and then it all happened. We were attacked. This man, or monster, I don't know. He was huge but his face was darkened so I couldn't tell who it was. He wanted a bracelet and was hurting us to get it."

"Who was there?" Artie asked.

"Uh, it was me, Bailey and Joshua," Claudia gave a small smile, "I know, weird group. But I don't know where anyone else was… Anyway, we were fighting the guy. Joshua was knocked out. I got hurt, my leg and couldn't really move. Bailey saved us. She got beat up really bad. Like thrown through walls bad," Claudia looked up at the still unconscious girl. "She had the bracelet and after a sci-fi battle with white and black beams, the monster tore off Bailey's bracelet. I thought it was over. But then, it just – it disintegrated in the guy's hands."

Claudia held her hands out in front of her, imagining the white sand flowing through her fingers. "He got majorly pissed and I guess Bailey did too because Joshua said Bailey lost control and she… she practically exploded. She was so angry with the man-monster-thing that I guess she unleashed all of its power." Claudia looked between the two men, and sighed. "The last thing I remember was the same wind storm and unbearably bright light…"

"As earlier today," Pete finished. Claudia nodded.

"Artie, I think that's what happened to Bailey," said Claudia, "whatever this artifact is, it brought her back here."

"But why?" Artie asked the room, "why here? Why now?"

Neither Claudia nor Pete had the answer.

Leena came up a few minutes later with milk and cookies for the group but none of them were particularly hungry; Pete only had two. It was early in the morning, around five, but no one could go back to sleep, no one wanted to either.

Everyone quickly assumed it was Claudia who Bailey knew best and was therefore most comfortable with so she volunteered to stay with her whenever possible. Pete put up an argument that Claudia needed to rest, that she shouldn't be solely responsible to Bailey but was quelled by both Artie and Leena's reassurance that they all will be with Bailey, taking care of her. Claudia was only there to keep her nightmares and stress at bay. Less stress meant quicker recovery time. Pete reluctantly agreed.


	4. Fever

Artie retreated to the dining table with all of the B&B's useful books laid out in front of him. The Farnsworth also sat within arm's reach as he waited for Mrs. Frederic's call. Pete, after muttering about keeping useful, decided to start shoveling the snow. No one bothered to mention it would do no help unless the streets were plowed as well. And it being so early in the winter, and in a small town, help wouldn't come for a few days yet.

Leena offered to keep Claudia company first since she needed to change Bailey's bandages. Claudia decided it was time to find something clean for Bailey to change into. That's how she found herself standing in a pile of clothes.

"When the heck did I get so many shirts?" Claudia muttered to herself. She held a _Radiohead_ band tee in her right hand, a _Puscifer_ one in her left and was staring at the pile of other undecided shirts littering the floor. Hearing Leena call her name, Claudia quickly chose a short sleeved _ACDC_ shirt Pete had gotten her, or rather, she assumed it was one of his hand-me-downs because it was two sizes too big. But it would be perfect for someone recovering from an incident, it would almost be a hospital gown but more stylish. She came up behind Leena to see the older woman hadn't really changed Bailey's bandages – taken them off, yes, but put new ones on? No.

"Leena?" Claudia asked.

"Look at this," Leena said softly. She gently raised Bailey's shirt to reveal her near flawless stomach.

"How...?" Claudia looked between Leena and Bailey. What used to be painful looking gashes were now completely gone. "You don't think…?"

Leena gave a small shrug, "I have no idea. It could be the same artifact or it could just be something biological, from the future, for all we know. It hasn't healed her completely though," Leena pulled back the sheet to reveal Bailey's still swollen left arm.

"Maybe it only does cuts."

Leena replaced the sheet. "Your guess is as good as mine. But, whatever healed her wounds has raised her temperature, a lot."

Bailey was in fact looking worse for wear. Her face was as pale as when she first arrived and drenched in sweat. Her breathing was shallow but steady.

"Do you think you can change her shirt by yourself?" Leena asked. When Claudia merely nodded, Leena continued, "I'm going to go grab the thermometer and some cool cloths." And she left.

Claudia reached over to move Bailey's right arm but quickly stopped when she hissed in pain. Claudia reared back and reassessed the situation. She was going to have to move Bailey's arm to change the shirts, there was no doubt about it. Taking a calming moment, she slowly removed Bailey's blood soaked shirt until it was only around her left arm.

"Aw man," Claudia mumbled. "Don't hate me."

Claudia gingerly slid the shirt off of her arm. Bailey rewarded her efforts with only a grimace of pain.

Claudia threw the ripped shirt onto the foot of the bed and began putting on the over sized shirt followed by the bed covers. Leena came back with Artie right behind, who immediately wanted to see the healed wounds while Leena took Bailey's temperature. Both of them were done at the same time.

Leena spoke first, "103.7." A few more degrees and her brain cells would start frying. "Her whole body is burning up."

The room stayed silent except for Bailey's labored breathing. "What does that mean?" Claudia asked, "Is it the artifact?"

Artie began rubbing his goatee again. "Unless there's some futuristic technology or biology that is doing this, it has to be."

"What happens now?" Claudia asked after a few moments, successfully keeping all of her fear from her voice.

Artie didn't answer right away. Instead he rubbed his eyes in frustration. "Keep her cool." He looked at Leena who began covering Bailey with cold cloths. "After that…add that to the things we don't know," he muttered but was saved from repeating it by his Farnsworth buzzing.

Artie retrieved his Farnsworth from his pocket and answered it in one swift move. "Mrs. Frederic."

The older woman's face occupied the tiny screen with her usual business-like expression. "Arthur. Please inform Ms. Donovan the internet is back up."

Artie looked over his shoulder to see the red-head already booting up her computer. Mrs. Frederic continued once Artie looked back at her, "As for the snow, I'm afraid it is going to be some more time. How is the girl?"

Artie sighed, "It's just one surprise after the other… Her initial open wounds have healed. Yeah, I know," Artie said to Mrs. Frederic's raised eyebrow. "Seems the artifact Bailey encountered has many features… But she still hasn't gained consciousness for more than a few minutes and now her whole body is burning up. It could be from the healing or maybe her body is rejecting the artifact's power. Or it could be something completely unknown. It just-"

"Arthur," Mrs. Frederic's firm voice cut through Artie's would-be rant. "In a few moments Ms. Donovan will be into the warehouse computers and then you two will have greater resources at your disposal to figure this mystery out. Until then, keep your head and stay useful. And keep me updated. I want to know who this Bailey is as soon as you do." With one last knowing look, the Farnsworth screen turned black, leaving Artie holding the communicator out in front of him.

"Right," said Artie as he shut the device back into his pocket. "Are you in?" He asked Claudia who was perched on the edge of the bed opposite Bailey.

Claudia nodded, "It's spooky how Mrs. F knows right when I'm about to access the warehouse."

"Well, you know, Caretaker and all…" Artie said as he made his way to stand behind Claudia, looking over her shoulder.

Claudia shrugged, "Yeah, but still, spooky." She typed in a few more commands and the warehouse mainframe appeared on screen. "Now, to narrow down the results," she glanced at Bailey and started tallying the 'symptoms'. "Healing power, teleportation, time travel, white light power…thingy."

Artie couldn't help but smirk at the dismal end to that sentence. He stood up straight, "I'm going downstairs to look on my computer. Let me know if you find anything and vice versa."

"Roger, roger," Claudia said, not taking her eyes off the computer. Artie left the two girls to their thing and nearly ran down the stairs, hoping for a quick discovery.

* * *

Hours later, Pete's stomach finally took over and forced his body inside to settle his hunger. Four feet of snow was near impossible to shift with a snowplow let alone a mere shovel. But it was a good physical exercise to help relieve tension, boredom, and worry. All of which were competing for dominance in Pete's mind.

As hungry as he was, he wanted to take a shower first to even out his body temperature – heat up his extremities and cool off his core - as well as clean off the funk sleeping in his clothes and then sweating in them had given him. Being upstairs also allowed him to check up on Bailey. When he walked into the room, Bailey was the same as ever except sweating more than he last saw her and wearing one of his old t-shirts. Leena had recently put bags of ice wrapped in cloth over Bailey's body to try and cool her down too. The former woman was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Pete looked to Claudia. She was sitting cross-legged on the unoccupied half of her bed with her elbows on her knees and hands holding her head up. Her focus was solely on the computer screen sitting in front of her.

Claudia didn't even notice when Pete entered the room and sat down in the lounge chair she had spent the last night sleeping in. He had to clear his throat to gain her attention.

When she turned to gaze at the older man, he noticed the tired, red eyes and small smile that graced her young face. Pete kept his observations to himself, though, knowing he probably looked about the same and that Claudia would merely brush off any comment for her to rest. Instead he nodded his head toward the computer, "Internet's back up, I take it."

Claudia nodded, "Yeah, couple hours ago."

"Good… Have you found anything?"

Claudia looked back at the screen in front of her and smiled, but Pete knew it wasn't a happy one. "Plenty. Mother Teresa's blanket, Napoleon's hat, George Orwin's spoon, Jordan Rice's cufflinks, Rheticus' compass and so on and so on… No blue box though."

A few moments passed before Pete spoke, "George Orwin's spoon?"

This time Claudia let out a little chuckle that was gratefully copied by Pete. "You eat with it, it heals wounds…but mostly it's just cuts in the mouth…not really sure why it's on this list."

Claudia rubbed her hands over her face and then back through her hair before Pete spoke up once more, "She heals now too?"

"Oh yeah, check it out," Claudia reached over to Bailey's right arm and lifted up the sleeve, revealing clear skin where a large cut once lingered.

"Nice," Pete said. "What's wrong?" Pete added when he noticed Claudia's frown.

"It's just… can you hand me the thermometer real quick?" Claudia held out her hand. Pete found the small plastic device on the bedside table and handed it over. Claudia opened Bailey's mouth enough to put the thermometer under her tongue. "She feels really hot. Like, hotter than before," she explained.

A minute later the device beeped and Claudia looked at the readout. "Crap, it's at 105.6. She's boiling. Can you get Artie and Leena?"

Pete shot up from the chair and raced downstairs. He found Artie in the dining room with a concentrated and frustrated expression on his face as he stared at his computer. Leena entered the room at the same time as Pete, carrying a tray of cookies causing Pete's stomach to lurch. He swallowed and took his eyes off of the cookies. The two others looked up sharply when they noticed the urgency of Pete's entrance.

"She's burning up." It was all he had to say for everyone to hastily make their way up the stairs and into Claudia's room.

Artie reached for the digital readout and his eyes widened. "105," he muttered but Leena heard him just fine. She went to Bailey and took off the bags revealing the melted ice.

"Artie, what do we do?" asked Claudia, now standing across the bed from the others.

"Leena, start an ice bath." Leena shot out of the room. Artie removed the sheets from Bailey to try to release her trapped body heat.

A short moment later the faucet from the bathroom could be heard but Pete made a frustrated sound and moved to pick up Bailey, "that's going to take too long."

Once he had Bailey safely in his arms he turned and headed down the stairs, Claudia and Artie close behind. He stopped just in front of the front door, "help me," he practically growled. Claudia ran around him and held open the door, cringing when a blast of cold air hit her face.

Pete walked as quickly as he dared out onto the clear pathway he worked on earlier. A few feet from the porch, he took a couple of steps into the untouched snow and laid Bailey down into the freezing white. Then he began to collect snow from behind him to put on top of her. He noticed another set of hands helping him and looked up to find Claudia copying his motions. Artie was nowhere to be seen.

Once all but Bailey's face was covered with snow, Pete and Claudia ceased moving. Only their breath disturbed the still and quiet environment. They both jumped when a large hand holding the small thermometer entered their line of sight.

"Here," Artie's gruff voice sounded through the quiet daytime. Pete grabbed for it and inserted it in Bailey's mouth.

After what felt like forever, the thermometer beeped. Pete read the readout and sighed, "104, it's going down. Slowly but it's going down." A huge grin spread on his face and he sat back into the snow, not caring if his backside got soaked. Claudia and Artie also smiled in relief.

"Good thinking Pete," Artie said proudly. Pete nodded his thanks, unable to stop grinning.

After a few moments, Pete reinserted the thermometer, for reassurance. It was down to 103.5. Claudia joined Pete on his seat of snow as Artie went inside to grab coats and to inform Leena of the necessity of many cups of hot chocolate.

* * *

Half an hour and two cups of hot chocolate later, Artie had decided they had all been in the cold long enough, Bailey especially.

"Rub her arms and legs to get her blood circulating before you take her inside," Artie instructed the others. Claudia and Pete did as they were told, avoiding Bailey's left arm.

A few minutes later Pete crouched to put his arms under Bailey and carry her back into the B&B. He froze where he was when he heard Bailey gasp. He glanced wide-eyed at Claudia who was also frozen where she was.

Everyone one of the team waited silently, watching the clouds of white air erupt from Bailey's mouth as she took deep, strenuous breaths. Slowly her eyes opened but quickly closed against the brightness. Claudia crouched down to where Bailey now sat wrapped in Pete's arms and grasped her uninjured hand.

"Bailey?" Claudia said quietly but firmly enough that everyone heard her. "Come on, it's me Claudia. Open your eyes... please."

Bailey frowned but eventually did as Claudia asked. The team shared a universal grin.

"Claud…?" Bailey eyes were still squinted against the light but they were staring right at a smiling Claudia.

"Yeah," she chuckled, "Yeah, that's me."

Even though Bailey had only been awake for a few seconds, everyone could see the strain it was taking on her. She was struggling to keep her eyes open and still taking deep breaths. She was even starting to slouch against Pete's chest, still enveloped in his arms.

"How are you feeling?" Claudia asked, seeing Bailey's declining condition.

Bailey didn't answer right away and Claudia had thought she lost consciousness again when she whispered, "cold."

Claudia smiled brightly again, "Don't worry. We'll get you back inside… You're safe, Bailey." Claudia squeezed Bailey's hand in reassurance and felt her heart jump when Bailey squeezed back. It wasn't powerful, but it was something.

"Yeah," Bailey mumbled before her breathing evened out as she blacked out once more.

"Come on, inside," Artie said after a moment. Pete gathered the rest of Bailey in his arms and hoisted her up. Claudia followed him back into the B&B and up to her room where Pete laid Bailey down once more. Claudia ransacked her dresser again for dry clothes to help Leena change Bailey into, so she wouldn't freeze. They just brought her back from burning inside out, they weren't about to have her freeze from the outside in.

* * *

"This is good right?" Pete asked his boss downstairs while the girls tended to Bailey.

Artie hummed his agreement and went back to his makeshift office in the dining room. "It seems she's recovering, yes."

Pete followed behind Artie and sat down opposite him. "I mean, she recognized Claudia and made conversation with her." Pete couldn't stop himself from smiling at the memory. "Hopefully next time she'll be able to stay awake long enough to tell us what happened."

Artie kept his eyes on the paperwork in front of him. "That would be helpful."

Pete stared at the older man, "But…?"

Artie sighed, "It might not be that easy. We still don't know what artifact she encountered or what all its powers are." He rubbed his eyes tiredly, "I've never seen anything like this." Artie spread out the papers of research in front of him, "Healing abilities? Yes. Teleportation? Yes. Unexplainable superhero-like power? Yes. Even time travel," Artie nearly growled out those last words, remembering a certain British woman and her machine. "But I've never seen anything that can do all of this and possibly more. Never even heard of such a thing."

It was a few moments before Pete spoke, "We'll just have to wait and see what Bailey says. We can't give up hope yet."

Artie raised his eyebrows and stared at Pete; shocked to hear of hope come out of his lips but delighted nonetheless. It had been too long since a hopeful Pete was sitting before Artie. The corners of his mouth curved as he watched Pete gaze in thought at the table.

"You're right," said Artie and not waiting for Pete's response he continued, "Claudia said there was a fight."

Pete cleared his throat and joined in, "Yeah, between Bailey and some guy. She said he looked like a monster?"

Artie nodded, in thought. "He was looking for a bracelet. The one Bailey had on."

"Bailey's tattoo or scar or whatever is from the bracelet." Pete snapped his fingers, "Artie, what if the bracelet's powers somehow connected with Bailey? I mean, what if they bonded together? You know how an object can be imbued with the willpower of the person? Why can't a person be imbued with the power of an artifact?"

Artie's eyes widened. He stood and looked up, as if trying to see through the ceiling into Claudia's room – to Bailey's wrist.

"A genetic suffusion," he whispered.

"A what?" Pete asked, also standing.

Artie changed his gaze back to the man standing in front of him. "A genetic suffusion." He sat back down and began typing on his computer once more.

"What's a genetic suffusion?"

Without looking up, Artie answered, "It's, uh, like you said. Actually. It's exactly like you said. An artifact being used to the point where the power is spread throughout another source, in this case, a person. I can't believe I didn't think of it before."

Pete put his hands in his pockets, "wait, how many times has this happened?"

Artie actually stopped and stared at Pete for a few seconds before returning to his work, "a few times."

"But enough that it has a name?" Pete was suddenly furious. He wasn't quite sure where the anger was coming from. Probably from lack of sleep, coupled with helplessness, coupled with the beginnings of cabin fever and maybe a hint of his all-knowing boss overlooking this bit of vital information.

Artie clicked a few more times before he found what he was looking for, "Four. Four times. Or at least, four times that we know of. The most recent being in 1802. Unless you count Amelia Earhart..." Artie paused for a moment but quickly shook his head, regaining his original train of thought.

"Erasmus Darwin – yes Charles Darwin's grandfather – died after he unexplainably started turning into a plant. Ironically, that's what started Charles' thoughts about evolution." He ended in a mumble but Pete still heard him and as a result, raised an eyebrow. Artie rubbed his hands together "he was obsessed with botany and the moon, and an interaction with a certain lunar map ended his life. But that's not important."

"Okay?" Pete asked slowly, his anger changed to puzzlement.

"What's important," Artie continued as if not hearing Pete's comment, "is that in every case of the suffusion…" he trailed off, causing Pete to cross his arms and step closer to Artie.

Artie deflated, "every single one of them has died, Pete… The power was too much for their system to handle."

Pete slowly uncrossed his arms and sat down, also deflated. "But that's not going to happen to Bailey." When Artie didn't answer, Pete pressed, "You said it yourself, she's getting better. She's recovering."

"I said it seemed that way."

* * *

Night had fallen and the Bed and Breakfast was silent. The inhabitants, now all informed of Bailey's possible grim fate were spread out in various rooms deep in their own thoughts. Artie had moved his pile of research from the dining table to his bedroom but refused to take a shower or even sit on his bed, knowing if he relaxed even a little bit, he would fall asleep.

Pete was on a similar level of thought; although he did take a shower but only in the hope his muscles wouldn't be sore tomorrow from shoveling snow. After he dressed he continued to pace his room.

Leena was down in the kitchen cleaning. The others had realized it was a nervous habit and left her too it. Once even she couldn't find a speck of dust or dirt in the spotless room, she quietly went up to her room. She laid in her bed and attempted to drown out her friends' troubled auras.

Claudia, despite her comfortable position on her bed next to Bailey, couldn't stop her mind from running at top speed. She had forced herself to shut down her computer so she wouldn't be tempted to get back on and even took a shower to relax. She wasn't giving up; on the contrary, she was preparing herself for a busy day tomorrow after a possible restless night of dreams.

Lying on her back, arms tucked under her head, she stared at the blue ceiling. Once she counted up to 541 sheep, she gave up on the ceiling and glanced at the digital clock by her head. It was after two in the morning. Claudia rubbed her face with her hands and then turned her body to face Bailey. For once, she actually looked like she was sleeping. Her breathing had evened out and she wasn't sweating nearly as much. Claudia could only see a slight glean of perspiration reflect the moonlight on her face. She slowly reached out and put her hand to Bailey's forehead. She felt a little warm but nothing dire like before.

As Claudia moved her hand back to her side she gasped but squelched a scream when Bailey's right arm caught hers.

_Claudia was sitting on the couch in the living room. Everything was the same as before except her computer was closed on the table in front of her. She stood up with the intention of entering the kitchen when a slightly tentative knock on the front door drew her attention. She hesitated but at a second, more confident knock, she moved toward the door._

_On the other side, Claudia was relieved to see, stood Bailey. She was wearing jeans, black chucks and a short sleeved red shirt over a longer, tight fitting black shirt. A single black back pack was slung over her shoulders. "Bailey? What are you doing here?"_

_Bailey gave Claudia a searching look, "Thanksgiving break." When Claudia's expression didn't change, Bailey shook her head, "Did you already forget? Or better yet, did dad forget to tell you we were spending it here this year?"_

_Claudia hesitated and then forced a smile, "Uh, no, we just- I was just – we've been busy. That's all." She flinched when a cold wind whipped through her clothes, "Geeze, get in here," she stepped back and then quickly closed the door against the cold air as soon as Bailey crossed the threshold. _

_Claudia rubbed her arms in an attempt to warm up and realized Bailey wasn't even shivering. "It's freezing outside. Why aren't you wearing a coat?"_

_Bailey turned her gaze at Claudia and smiled. Then she stuck her arms out, pointing to the tight black fabric covering her arms, "Got the new Weather Guard Pro. It's like another layer of skin. A warmer, thicker, sleeker layer, but still…" Claudia didn't register anything else Bailey said because there, on Bailey's right wrist, was the bracelet. The white bracelet. _

"_Claudia?" Claudia jumped and tore her eyes from the bracelet to Bailey's slightly concerned face. "Are you okay?"_

_Once again, Claudia smiled, "Yes. I'm fine. Just tired."_

_Bailey nodded, not very convinced but she let it go, "So, am I going to be in the same room as before?"_

"_Uh," Claudia glanced at the stairs as if they would miraculously give her the answers, "Yes. Sure. You remember where it is, right?"_

_Bailey grinned and shook her head slightly, not sure why Claudia was acting so strange, "I think so." And she headed up the stairs, leaving a confused Claudia in the foyer. _

Claudia gasped and pulled her arm out of Bailey's grip. Her scar was white once again and Claudia could feel the heat from it. She realized she was breathing heavily and closed her eyes to try and calm down. When she opened her eyes, Bailey was awake and looking right back at Claudia.

"Bailey?" Claudia whispered.

Bailey blinked, and then whispered back, "Claudia?"

Claudia nodded, "That's me. Are you okay?"

Bailey slowly nodded back but a confused look found its way onto her face, "You look different."

Claudia didn't know what to say to that. So she stuck with asking questions, "Does your arm hurt?"

It took Bailey a few seconds but she eventually glanced down to her left arm that was still in its makeshift sling. She looked back at Claudia, "A little."

"Okay, hang on," Claudia got up and grabbed the bottle of painkillers and glass of water. "Here, take these. They'll get rid of the pain. And make sure you finish the whole glass," she added as an afterthought, Bailey was probably feeling dehydrated with all the sweating.

Bailey lifted her head to let the pills go down her throat easier. With a little coaxing, Claudia helped Bailey into a sitting position and rearranged her pillows so she was propped up a bit. Claudia sat cross-legged, silently waiting for Bailey to finish the glass of water. Once she was done, Claudia put the empty glass safely on the bedside table and waited for Bailey to talk.

Claudia soon realized this probably wasn't the best idea because a quick glance told her it was after three in the morning and Bailey hadn't opened her eyes since she finished the glass of water.

"Bailey," Claudia stage whispered, she didn't want to wake her if she had fallen asleep. "What year do you think it is?"

Bailey did nothing but stay still and Claudia sighed. But then Bailey started to shake her head, "It doesn't matter."

"What?"

"It's not going to be what I think it should be," Bailey said, her eyes remaining closed.

"How do you know?"

Bailey smiled a bit, "Because you asked me what year I thought it was… You should have just asked what year it was."

"Duly noted," Claudia mumbled and laid back down. Minutes passed in silence before Claudia spoke up once more, "Alright, answer me this. How come I'm the only one who sees these…visions?"

Claudia waited but the only answer she received was Bailey's deep, even breathing. She turned over and let the footfalls of Pete's pacing lure her to sleep.

* * *

In the morning, Claudia told the rest of the team about the night's events. They were glad Bailey was slowly but surely gaining consciousness, even answering questions with lucid responses. They were equally as angry that Claudia hadn't 'woken' them up after Bailey had fallen back asleep.

The rest of the morning went on much the same as the day before. Pete went to work outside while Artie and Claudia concentrated on more research and Leena helped in any way possible. It was mid-afternoon when Artie gathered everyone in Claudia's room.

Once everyone was settled, Artie cleared his throat, "We aren't going to take Bailey to the hospital."

It was a sign of the group's tiredness that no one argued. They merely shot Artie confused expressions.

Artie continued, "Mrs. Frederic has just informed me that Vanessa, uh, Dr. Calder should be here in a few hours to take a look at Bailey."

"And how's she supposed to do that?" Pete asked, skeptically. "I mean I've shoveled up to the driveway but last time I checked the road still wasn't clear."

Artie nodded knowingly. "I'm aware of that, as are the Regents."

He didn't have to say anymore. Everyone knew the Regents had their own ways of doing things. They were actually surprised Mrs. Frederic hadn't popped out of nowhere and scared the crap out of everyone yet. Claudia wouldn't admit it but out of the corner of her eye she checked the open doorway for an unsuspecting visitor. Thankfully, it was empty.

"Do you think she will be able to do anything for her?" Claudia asked.

Artie glanced at Bailey who took that moment to turn her head so she was facing him. "I hope so."

* * *

Though Pete refused to say it aloud, he believed the Doctor's visit to be pointless. Especially after she informed the team that the only thing she would and could do was make Bailey more comfortable. She refused to use certain artifacts that would heal Bailey's arm, break her fever, and/or wake her up because of the unknown consequences they would have when mixed with the bracelet's power. To remind them of the risks, Leena mentioned the Studio 54 disco ball and Lewis Carroll's mirror incident, much to the group's dismay.

Vanessa only told them what they already knew; Bailey had to get better in her own time. And based on recent events, Vanessa used her medical knowledge to estimate her longer term awakening to occur in the next day or two, to which Pete mumbled something about already figuring that out.

The only area where she might have shed some light was when Claudia mentioned her visions.

"I can say for sure," Vanessa said with the light but official tone of an experienced agent, "if you believe these dreams to actually be memories, which I do, I think Claudia is the only one whom Bailey knows and recognizes in this group. And - this part is pure speculation - I believe Bailey was sent to this time to fix something. I don't know what, but I highly doubt the artifact sent her here on a whim."

"So you're saying something happens in the future that's not right?" asked Claudia.

"I'm saying that I think something happened in Bailey's time that either she or the artifact didn't like, or both," explained the doctor.

"But what?" asked Pete, frustrated.

Vanessa shook her head lightly, "You'd have to ask her." She, along with everyone else, turned their gaze to the sleeping girl on the bed.

Pete stared at the unconscious girl almost painfully, willing her to wake.

And awake she did.

* * *

**Hope you guys like the longer chapter. Also hoping it will tide you over until I get a chance to update again. Sorry but as much as I hate to say it, college comes first. Especially since I'm paying for it and all. Anyway, reviews are awesome. :)**


	5. Clever

**Firstly, really sorry about the long time between this update and last. Good news though, I've practically finished the story! So now the updates will be more regular since all I have to do is edit and proofread the chapters before posting. :)**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy this one!

* * *

**

The whole room froze when Bailey took in a large breath before her eyes snapped open. Her eyes scanned the room anxiously. The rest of the inhabitants remained still long enough for Bailey to realize she wasn't where she was supposed to be. To everyone's surprise, Bailey kicked off the sheets covering her and before anyone could stop her, she was on her feet.

But it wasn't long before her now weak legs gave out and Artie, being the closest, saved her from hitting the ground. She was breathing heavily and clearly scared for her life. With his arms wrapped around Bailey, Artie slowly lowered her to the ground and began soothing her, attempting to calm her rapid heartbeat.

Vanessa was the quickest to react after Artie, ordering everyone to back away and give Bailey room to adjust to all of the changes. They all did as they were told without question. Pete backed until he stood in the doorway, watching as the oldest agents tried to gain control of the situation. Leena backed paced but kept her eyes on the terrified young woman wrapped in Artie's arms.

As hard as Artie and Vanessa tried, they couldn't slow the adrenaline pouring through Bailey's veins and she pushed Artie onto his backside, releasing herself from his grip. Seeing the blocked doorway, Bailey forced her legs to carry her towards the opposite wall where she slouched against it, taking labored breaths.

"Artie?" Claudia's mutter, asking a thousand questions, _what's happening?_ _Are you okay?_ _what do we do?,_ filled the ears of everyone in the room, including Bailey's.

Bailey turned her tired gaze toward the red-head. They locked eyes and Claudia could practically swim in the emotions that seeped from them; most of it fear but there was a hint of something else. Claudia thought it was something like hope.

"Artie, her arm," Pete took a step forward, noticing her wrist had begun to glow in the semi-dark room. Bailey's eyes widened in recognition at Pete but then she winced and grabbed her head with her right hand.

Somehow, it was as if everyone was on the same wavelength that moment. They all took the opportunity to close in on Bailey while she had her eyes closed. Unfortunately, it seemed as if Bailey was listening in.

"No!" Bailey yelled fiercely and opened her eyes. Everyone stopped dead. Bailey's eyes were glowing white. The group reflexively flinched when she threw her right arm out in front of her. Claudia gasped, recognizing the move but instead of a light beam, a wall formed itself halfway in the room, leaving Pete and Leena on the outside.

"Leave!" Bailey yelled again, but it sounded almost like a plea. No one moved. "Now! Just get out!"

With concern lacing her eyes, Leena began to back out and put her hand on Pete's arm. He hesitated but made eye contact with Artie and shared a mental nod. Then the two reluctantly left the room.

A few seconds passed before Vanessa spoke calmly to Bailey, "They're gone. You're okay. You can stop using the power now."

Bailey lowered her hand but the wall of light remained where it was. Beads of sweat poured down Bailey's forehead and neck. The strain was visible on her face. The agents knew she had to stop soon or she was going to burn out, possibly for good. Bailey slouched further on the wall and Vanessa took the chance to move a few steps toward her.

"Stop," Bailey glared at Vanessa.

She held up her hands in surrender but didn't stop, "I'm a doctor. Please… let me help you."

"Just stop," Bailey said again. Tears began to fall from her eyes.

Vanessa slowed slightly but pretended to not hear Artie call her name as she crept forward. She didn't notice the wall had disappeared behind her.

"You're hurt and if you keep doing this, you'll only get worse," Vanessa cautioned her.

She was a foot away when Bailey suddenly stood to her full height and the light in her eyes reached a blinding level. Vanessa withdrew her hand and backed up a step too hastily; she tripped and fell. Looking up at the younger girl, Vanessa felt every muscle in her body tense. It was her turn to be terrified.

Bailey lowered her voice, "I said-"

"Stop!" Claudia yelled, cutting Bailey off and successfully grabbing her attention away from the doctor. "Bailey..."

Everyone froze once again as tension filled the air. The two younger girls stared at each other, as if waiting for the other to make the first move. Vanessa slowly shuffled out from between the two to not draw Bailey's attention. Artie stood still behind Claudia, torn between helping his beloved and supporting his apprentice.

Claudia reached out a hand toward Bailey and spoke quietly but confidently, "Bailey, just listen to me. You need to stop. Stop using the power. You're hurting yourself."

Bailey narrowed her eyes in suspicion but didn't respond.

Claudia didn't chance moving but continued trying to reason with the scared and powerful girl. "Look, you're probably confused as Hell and in pain. Believe me when I tell you I know what that feels like. And it's not good."

Bailey's eyes began to fade, slowly but surely. Claudia's lips twitched upwards and continued, "You know I'm right. You're smart. And you're strong. Now use that amazing mental ability to realize what's causing your pain and stop it."

Bailey leaned against the wall again. "Claudia…" she breathed.

Claudia nodded, "I know you have questions. I have loads of my own. I promise you, if you stop, then we'll tell you everything we can. But you need to take control of this power and stop it… Now."

Bailey closed her eyes and let her fatigue finally take over. She slid down the wall onto her backside and allowed her tears to flow freely. "What's happening?" Bailey asked quietly.

Claudia ran over and knelt next to Bailey while Artie helped Vanessa onto her feet. Quiet sobs racked Bailey's body and Claudia hugged her close, willing to give her all the comfort she needed.

_Claudia started when a sound from her right blasted into the quiet room. She quickly turned over and blindly fumbled for the 'snooze' button. Once the incessant noise cut off, realization dawned on her and she bolted up. She was still in her room but lying on her bed, still in her clothes. She must have dozed off before changing. _

_She stared at her bedside table and instead of seeing the time, she saw a transparent screen with the word "Ping" flashing across it. Slowly, Claudia touched the screen and the word faded instantly only to be replaced by two pictures and lines of information under them. Claudia looked closer but everything was blurred. She rubbed her eyes and in the back of her mind, wondered if she wore glasses now. When the images still weren't readable, Claudia gave an exasperated sigh and left the room._

_Downstairs she found Bailey typing away on Claudia's computer. She walked up behind Bailey and saw what looked impossibly like one of the research screens from the warehouse on the laptop. Before she could get a closer look or say anything, Bailey snapped the top down and turned to face Claudia._

"_Finally up, I see," Bailey smirked._

_Claudia wasn't fooled, "What were you doing?" _

_Bailey set the computer on the table and answered nonchalantly, "Just some research… For school," she added at Claudia's skeptical look._

_Liar, Claudia thought. But she let it go. Instead looking around the empty room, "So, where is everyone?"_

"_Same place they were before you took your little catnap," Bailey shrugged._

_Claudia sighed. "Right," she mumbled before she took a seat next to Bailey. They sat in relatively comfortable silence for a few moments before Claudia asked, "What are you up to these days?" _

"_School," Bailey answered easily._

"_And how's that?"_

"_Fine."_

_Claudia nodded slowly, suddenly feeling like she was pulling teeth. "Just fine? Not amazing? Horrible? Best time of your life? Worst? Anything?"_

_Bailey smiled, "it's good, it's good. I'm just…"_

_Claudia raised an eyebrow and waited._

"_It's just… Don't get me wrong. I love my friends and my classes are pretty fun. I really like micro-physics and calculus and all that. I'm pretty good at it too which is always good," Bailey rambled. _

_Claudia successfully suppressed a smile. "But…?"_

_Bailey's shoulders slumped a little. "I'm bored."_

"_Should I leave?" Claudia teased._

"_Wha-? No," she laughed, "no, you know what I mean."_

_Claudia nodded, more serious. "Yes. I do know."_

"_Then you know what it's like to learn something, know it right away and then have to wait for everyone else to catch on."_

"_Curse of being a genius, I guess," Claudia mused._

"_Yeah," Bailey reluctantly agreed. "It just isn't snow that I have to get a degree to get a decent job in what I'm good at."_

_Claudia held her hands up, "Wait, wait, wait. Snow?"_

"_What? You don't know what snow means? Ms. So-up-to-date-on-everything-it's-annoying?" At Claudia's blank stare, Bailey gave in. "It's kind of like cool, but… cooler," she grinned._

_Claudia shook her head, "Anyway…"_

"_Anyway, I guess I could always get a job with dad…" Bailey looked over Claudia's shoulder, as if imagining herself alongside him, whoever he was. "But I don't want to just do that. I want to try stuff out. Without all these people telling me what I can and can't do."_

_Claudia laughed, "You sound like a mad-scientist."_

"_I'm not mad. I'm clever." Bailey stuck her tongue out._

"_And oh so mature. Let me know when you get this lab of yours. I'll be sure to stay on the other side of the country."_

_Bailey lightly hit Claudia's arm, "At least I'm not stuck here in the middle of nowhere in charge of a warehouse full of… stuff."_

_Claudia sobered a little bit. Did Bailey know what was actually stored in the miles deep warehouse? Before either of them could continue, though, the doorbell rang. Claudia went to answer it._

_As soon as Claudia opened the door, she found herself wrapped tightly in a bear hug by a tall, mostly brown haired with some silver, man yelling her name excitedly._

_Without even seeing his face, Claudia knew who it was, "Pete!"_

_Once they finally let go of each other, although neither could completely erase their grins, Claudia stepped back to let Pete in._

"_So how's the new job going?" _

_Claudia hesitated. Having no clue what he was talking about and hoping she didn't look like a deer in the headlights, she choked out, "uh."_

_But Pete didn't notice. He leaned in closer and stage whispered, "Just promise me you won't start disappearing and reappearing all willy-nilly and scaring the crap out of us, okay? One Mrs. F was enough."_

_Claudia smiled. So she was caretaker now. Part of her wondered what happened to Mrs. Frederic, the other part tried desperately not to think about it. "I don't know. It adds to the mysteriousness, doesn't it?" she joked. _

"_So you'll wear a bell then? Great," he teased. He turned to the inner part of the B&B, "So anybody else here yet?"_

"_Just me," Bailey said from the threshold between the living room and foyer. _

"_Bailey," Pete said and held his arms out for a hug. When Bailey didn't move, Pete went to her. "Great to see you," he said before Bailey let him hug her._

"_Ditto," She said into Pete's shoulder. _

_The hug lasted only a second but Claudia couldn't help but notice the hesitance Bailey had with the hug. And now the girl who was talking freely and happily with Claudia a few minutes ago turned into someone completely different. She was shy and near silent._

_Claudia frowned but quickly changed it into a smile as Pete turned to face her again. "What's for dinner? I'm starving."_

"_You never change," Claudia shook her head as her smile turned genuine. _

"_Um, actually, I have some work to do," Bailey forced a smile full of regret. "I think I'm just going to get as much done as I can early on so I don't worry about it later..."She indicated going up stairs. "A.K.A. get my own catnap in." She grinned mischievously at Claudia._

"_Alright," she said. "Come down if you're hungry or call if you need anything."_

_Bailey nodded and headed up the stairs with Claudia's dubious gaze on her. _

"_Claudia, you didn't tell me there was a ping," Pete said softly. Claudia stared at Pete. It seemed he had been searching through the touch screen in the foyer while she was talking with Bailey._

"_Uh, yeah, it came in a little earlier," Claudia made her way over to Pete. The same pictures and information were displayed as before but this time they were clear enough to read._

_It was a picture of two men. Average in everything from looks to bank accounts. The only common ground was they both went blind around the same time. The first man, Tom Williams, was killed by some sort of… black laser, according to the autopsy and witnesses. The second man, Jordan Song, was alive but unwell. He could see nothing but black. _

_Pete watched as Claudia read the files. Shock, confusion, and finally realization crossed her face. She turned to Pete when he spoke up. _

"_Something that looks like a black laser?" Pete said, excitement filling his eyes and voice. "You think…?"_

"_Pete…" Claudia trailed off. She had no idea what to say. This could be what they had been looking for for years or it could be something completely different. But the look on Pete's face was absolute. He was convinced this was the bracelet from years ago._

"_Let me go." Pete said._

_Claudia had to shake off her shock, he was asking her? "What?"_

"_Claudia, let me go and find this artifact. Maybe I can stop it," he began whispering, "Stop you guys from being hurt." When Claudia didn't answer, he continued, "If I have it then you guys can't get hurt… And it's only one state away. We could snag it and be back by Turkey day."_

"_Pete…" but Claudia had nothing to say. He was right. If he had possession of the artifact than whoever was supposed to attack, wouldn't. Couldn't. And Pete was the one person she trusted completely right now. The only problem is the whole Grandfather Clause… _

"_Okay," she agreed. She'd think about the consequences to the time changes later._

_Pete smiled, "awesome. Whoa, haven't used that word in a while."_

_Claudia returned it, albeit hesitantly. "But I'm not letting you go alone. You aren't an agent anymore." She didn't know that for sure but something about him asking her for permission made her think it._

_Pete didn't say anything for a moment, pondering the deal. Finally he nodded his head, "Okay. Yeah, I'll call Andrew and Steph from the car. Let them know. They'll probably call you to confirm but everything should be good." He started toward the door. "Don't worry." He smiled and then he was gone. _

"Claudia!"

She winced at the gruff voice invading her ears.

"Claudia, can you hear me?"

Artie. It was Artie.

"Not so loud," she mumbled. Or she hoped that's what came out.

She heard Artie sigh in relief when she turned her head away from him and grumbled.

"No, no, can't go back to sleep, not yet." Claudia hopelessly tried to fend off Artie's arms from preventing her rest. "No sleep until we get you off the floor."

"Floor?" Claudia mumbled. Then her eyes shot open as she remembered why she was on said floor.

She lifted her head and looked around for Bailey. She was laying a few feet away, being looked after by Vanessa. "Bailey?"

She and Artie looked to Vanessa who gave a reassuring smile, "She'll be alright."

Claudia laid her head back down, suddenly very tired. "What happened?" she asked her mentor.

Artie moved from his knees onto his backside, to get more comfortable, before simply saying, "You stopped her."

They all sat in silence for a few moments. Then, "I had another dream – vision- memory…"

Out of the corner of her eye, Claudia saw Artie and Vanessa's attention turn solely onto her. But they stayed quiet, letting her decide when to continue. A few brief moments past before Claudia stated, "It was definitely the most personal."

"What do you mean?" Artie asked, unable to quell his jumping curiosity.

"I mean, we talked. Me and Bailey. About… random stuff. And we were messing around. Having fun." She paused, thinking. "And then Pete came over and then there was a ping. Pete took off and that's it."

"Anything else?"

"It was almost Thanksgiving." Claudia shrugged then turned to face Artie. "How long was I out?"

"Hmm? Uh, just – just a few minutes."

Claudia closed her eyes and mumbled sleepily, "Didn't feel like a few minutes…"

It was Vanessa that drew Artie's attention to a half asleep Claudia but he hastily scrambled to his feet and dragged Claudia with him. Luckily her bed was only a few feet away because Claudia was asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Artie sighed, "Good job kiddo." Then he turned back toward Bailey and Vanessa.

"What should we do with her?" Vanessa asked.

"As much as I want to put her in a room and lock her in until we figure this out, I think staying with Claudia might be the best solution," Artie said tiredly.

"I agree. The next time she wakes up, we shouldn't be here. It should only be Claudia."

Artie stared at Vanessa but said nothing. He knew she was right. He hated leaving Claudia alone with someone as unstable as Bailey but it was the only way to keep her calm. He gathered Bailey in his arms and laid her on the bed next to Claudia. Vanessa then draped a blanket over the two and left the room. Artie hesitated but followed Vanessa, closing the door.

Artie found Pete outside a half an hour later. He was digging out the three cars but it was obvious his mind was elsewhere. He didn't notice Artie's approach until he was on the other side of the hood of the SUV.

"Guess you stopped her." Pete kept digging.

"Claudia did, yeah," Artie glanced back at the B&B. Silence fell between them as Artie made his way toward his car. Neither said anything until Artie brushed off the last of the snow from his car and stood back to evaluate his handiwork – and make sure it was undamaged.

Happy with the result, he turned back to Pete who was working diligently on Claudia's car. "She's smart, Pete. Claudia thinks she's a genius." Pete didn't offer a reply so Artie kept going. "She knows she is in the wrong place, wrong time. And waking up with four unfamiliar faces didn't help. Plus she has the power of the artifact running through her body. Who knows what that's doing to her mind."

Pete paused and glanced back at Artie. "I know… but you weren't thrown out of the room," he grumbled and went back to shoveling.

Artie tightened his coat around his body as he chuckled mirthlessly. "So, what? You're mad at me now? Because of something none of us have any control over?"

Pete stuck the shovel in a pile of snow and looked out into the snow covered distance. His shoulders slouched, "No. I'm not… it's just- I'm just frustrated…. I hate this, Artie." He turned completely toward his boss and gestured at the house. Artie stood his ground and waited for Pete to collect his thoughts, knowing it was high time for Pete to vent. "I hate snow. I hate being stuck here. I hate working around the consciousness of some girl supposedly from our future. I hate that she is infected with an unknown artifact with unknown – but apparently freakily powerful – powers. And I hate that Claudia is the only one who can talk to her." He paused, attempting to compose himself. Artie stayed silent, letting the younger man get everything off his chest.

"Artie, I hate feeling useless," Pete continued in a calmer voice. "I mean there is nothing I can do. You and Claudia are the techies, Leena does her aura thing, but me? I find go out and find artifacts. But there's no 'going out' and we already know what happened to the one that's hurting Bailey… Artie, I don't even have any vibes!" Pete laughed out the end, but not in a good way. "There's nothing. Good or bad."

"I wish she was here too, Pete," Artie stated simply.

Pete looked slightly like a mad man as he stared at Artie. But then he closed his eyes and collapsed to the ground. His back against the side of Claudia's car, elbows on his raised knees and head in his hands. Pete thought of his former partner. What she would do. She wouldn't panic for one.

Artie wasn't the one to give comfort through talking. He preferred to just be there. He'd listen if the other wanted to vent but he'd rarely do the talking. This situation was no different, so he sat down next to Pete and kept quiet.

Suddenly Pete chuckled and raised his head, "Bet she would have figured it out by now."

Artie smiled.

* * *

"_Everything changed after she left… they were incomplete. They couldn't bring her back."_

The familiar voice floated around in Claudia's mind like leaves in the wind. The more she tried to make sense of it, the quicker it faded into the darkness surrounding her. Finally realizing she passed out; Claudia shifted and the distinct feeling of cotton brushed her hands. She relaxed when she recognized her bed. She wasn't sure how that came to be - the last thing she remembered was lying on the floor after Bailey freaked out.

Her sleepiness forgotten, Claudia sat up and searched Bailey's usual spot on the bed. It was empty. And the room was dark.

"My internal clock is going to be so messed up by the time this is over," Claudia mumbled when she found it was after midnight.

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, flinching when a headache stabbed her brain. A few moments later, after Claudia's eyes had adjusted somewhat, she spotted Bailey sitting across the room in front of the window.

"Bailey?" Claudia said loud enough for the girl to turn around.

"Claudia," she answered quietly. "Are you okay?"

Shadows darkened Bailey's face so Claudia couldn't make out her expression but her voice was laced with an apology. Claudia nodded. "I'm fine. Are you?"

Bailey also nodded then turned her gaze out the window again. Claudia slowly made her way to stand next to her.

The view was nothing new to Claudia - except for the four feet of snow covering everything. Grass and trees covered in white as far as the eye could see.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Bailey asked. "And it's really… cool how it's the middle of the night but the reflected moonlight makes it so bright."

"Yeah, I always loved that," Claudia stared out the window. A smile cornering her lips. "It's like being in a different world."

"Yeah," Bailey smiled slightly. "Something like that."

They stayed silent for a little bit until Claudia made her way back to the bed and sat on the end. Before she could say anything though, Bailey asked with a hidden smirk, "Time for the questions then?"

"If you're up for it."

Bailey stared at Claudia, studying her face. "It's so weird. You're… my age."

Claudia exhaled, "I guess. So what year is it?"

Bailey let out a soft chuckle, "Remembered that bit, huh? I'd say… 2010ish."

"What year are you from?"

Bailey shrugged, "Your future."

"Bailey-"

"Claudia, I'm not going to tell you everything you want to know. I'm not going to tell you what happens. You have to figure that out on your own," Bailey said simply. "Besides, I believe it was you who said you'd answer all of my questions, not the other way around."

Claudia straightened, "how about we trade off?"

Bailey didn't answer. Instead, she moved to sit cross-legged opposite Claudia on the bed.

"Me first…" She paused and looked Claudia in the eye, "Why isn't Myka here?"

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**PS reviews are awesome. And the more I get, the faster I'll update. ;)**


	6. Memories

**Just want to thank everyone who has been sticking with this story! It's much appreciated. And to my reviewers - especially **_Kat Bee Dee_ **and **_KJay99_** - you are awesome! Thanks for reading!**

**Hope you like this one. Let me know either way. ;)**

**

* * *

**Describe why Myka left the team in one hundred words or less.

For someone who made a living off hacking and constantly learning new and more complex algorithms every day, this was one of the hardest things Claudia had ever had to do. Especially when she had to leave out vital parts of the story. For instance, the villain of the piece, H.G. Wells. How was Claudia going to explain, firstly, that H.G. was actually a girl, and secondly that she survived this long?

_By the way, Bailey, that tax warehouse isn't actually a tax warehouse but instead holds the world's most powerful and dangerous objects as well as those people who had the potential to become Hitler's and Mussolini's in a bronzed state._ Somehow Claudia didn't think that would get the best reaction. And that brings up the other issue; the artifacts. Sure Bailey was being affected by one at the moment and knew it, but that didn't mean she knew there were more ordinary objects in people's attics that could cause mayhem and possibly ruin the world's day.

Claudia would have to skirt around the climax of the story as well. In fact, the part with the still alive female version of H.G. Wells and the horrible power of the Minoan Trident would have to be downgraded to a friend who went psycho and wanted to destroy the world.

Lame.

And so Claudia stared at Bailey for a good thirty seconds, collecting her thoughts to say just enough to answer her question. Forget one hundred words; Claudia could do it in five. "She doesn't trust herself anymore."

Bailey waited for more but Claudia wasn't forthcoming. So instead she allowed Claudia to ask her question without interrupting.

"Where did you get that bracelet?"

Bailey glanced at her marked wrist before she could stop herself but kept her gaze down as she answered. "A friend gave it to me. Said it would look good on me."

"New rule. No lying."

Bailey looked up, "it's true."

Claudia merely nodded her head, not sure if she believed her or not. "Another thing, I know it's not my turn but…since you're not exactly okay around everyone else – and I'll get to that later - can I record this little Q&A?"

Bailey's eyes widened slightly as she considered the question. But then looked down and shyly nodded her assent. Claudia quickly set up the correct program on her computer and pressed record.

"Okay," Claudia said as she climbed back onto her side of the bed, "your turn."

Bailey frowned in concentration, as if trying to recall lost memories but didn't say anything for a long time. Claudia was beginning to think she freaked Bailey out with the recorder when Bailey asked her question. "Why didn't you stop her?"

Claudia didn't waiver from Bailey's intense stare, knowing exactly who 'her' was. "We didn't know she was leaving until she was gone."

"You could have gone after her," Bailey said with a hint of a tone Claudia didn't particularly like.

"We did. Pete did." Claudia defended. "She didn't want to come back. Still doesn't."

"Why?"

"I told you," Claudia stated shortly, unwilling to show how uncomfortable she was becoming. The subject in question hadn't been talked about in nearly three months, it was almost taboo. Sure Claudia had thought about her and what to say if the time ever came into being, but thinking it and actually saying it aloud were two completely different things.

"Claudia, what happened?" Bailey leaned closer, trying to get Claudia to open up.

Claudia didn't flinch, instead something inside her head lit up, "Why are you so interested in Myka?"

"Because I want to understand…" Bailey trailed off. She reeled back and tore her gaze from Claudia, recognizing she said too much. "I'm just curious."

"Understand what?" Claudia pushed. Bailey kept her eyes off Claudia. "Bailey, what does Myka have to do with this?"

"Nothing," Bailey said softly, too softly to be convincing. Tension filled the air between them and neither said anything for what felt like hours. Claudia couldn't figure Bailey out, no matter how hard she tried. There wasn't enough information to make sense of it and Bailey's hesitance wasn't at all helpful. All Claudia could do was speculate. But, she knew one thing. Myka was important someway, somehow.

Finally Bailey broke the silence. "Can we get some food?"

"What?" Claudia sputtered, not expecting that question.

Bailey shrugged but wouldn't meet Claudia's gaze. "I haven't eaten since – who knows? If it's okay with you, I'd like to eat something before I pass out again."

It took a moment for Claudia to register what just happened but in the end she nodded and stood. "Probably a good idea. Do you think you could make it down there?"

Bailey turned her body but didn't stand, "Could you bring me something? If I move I might pass out before I make it down the stairs."

"Uh, yeah, sure," Claudia moved to the door. "What do you want? Don't ask for anything spectacular, unless you want it overcooked – and by overcooked, I mean burned to the point of no recognition. But I could do PB&J, I'm the best at that."

Bailey smiled, "How about PB&CJ?" Claudia raised an eyebrow. "Peanut butter and chocolate jelly."

Claudia let a small smile grace her features, "We'll see."

* * *

Leena heard Claudia's door open and close a few minutes before the kitchen light came on. A few minutes after that, she decided to investigate because, really, she had nothing else to do. And it was a good thing she entered the kitchen when she did because she was able to stop the monstrosity of a mess Claudia was making. And to think, the red head was only making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich… with chocolate?

"Um, Claudia?" Leena questioned as she eyed the chocolate syrup sitting next to the jar of grape jelly.

"PB&CJ. Blame Bailey, not me," Claudia said in way of explanation, recognizing Leena's tone.

Leena's eyebrows shot up, "Bailey's awake?"

"Yup." Claudia picked up the chocolate syrup and began dousing the perfectly good PB&J sandwich. "And she's talking and I'm recording it so she doesn't have to go through this again with Pete and Artie and you. And because it's late and I don't want to wake them."

"You think Artie and Pete are asleep?" Leena asked skeptically, grabbing an apple and slicing it into pieces.

Claudia finished with the chocolate and licked her fingers before answering, "No. But I've got her talking and I don't want to spook her with a big audience."

"But you're recording her? And she's fine with that?"

"Yeah, I left it upstairs with her. It's all good. Unless…" Claudia stopped. Unless Bailey didn't want what she said or didn't say repeated. Claudia said it herself; Bailey's a genius, definitely able to figure out technology that was at least twenty years older than her. A click of a button and it's all gone. She stared at Leena who came to the same conclusion and then grabbed the PB&CJ sandwich to head back upstairs.

"Claudia," Leena stopped the girl. She took the unhealthy plate of chocolate and replaced it with the plate of apple slices. "Now go."

A quick innocent smile crossed Claudia's face before she was gone. Leena gingerly poked the sandwich in her hand. Then took a small bite to test it out.

There is a saying that goes something like 'anything is better with chocolate.' Well, anything but a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Maybe people in the future have altered taste buds, mused Leena.

* * *

Claudia took a breath before slowly opening the door to her room. Bailey was propped up against the headboard and glanced at Claudia as she came in.

Claudia handed Bailey the plate of apple slices with a shrug, "Leena thought your PB&CJ sandwich wasn't exactly a good midnight snack."

"It's alright," Bailey ate a slice. "I made that up."

Claudia couldn't believe it. "Are you serious?"

Bailey nodded before a chuckle escaped her lips.

"What would you have done if I came back with one in my hand?"

"Asked if you wanted to try it before I ever took a bite," Bailey grinned.

Claudia laughed. "There's no way I would eat that." Bailey kept the grin but stayed silent while Claudia thought that over. "Okay, yeah, I probably would have."

The two of them laughed earnestly, the previous tension all but forgotten. Bailey ate another slice and Claudia took the opportunity to sneak a peek at her laptop. It was still recording. Bailey hadn't done anything to it.

After a few minutes, the entire apple was devoured by Bailey and she was admittedly starting to feel faint.

"Bailey?" Claudia asked the girl lying next to her.

"Hmm?" She replied sleepily.

"Why are you comfortable around me and not the others? And why am I the only one that sees these visions?" Claudia added as an afterthought.

Bailey took a deep breath and released it. "I think I'll be okay around everyone else now. It was just… I freaked out. But I recognized you. You're voice, really. And it…comforted me, I guess."

Claudia nodded but realized Bailey probably didn't see.

She continued anyway, "As for the visions you see…I don't know." The last was mumbled as Bailey lost herself in a deep sleep. Claudia rubbed her eyes in frustration and turned away from the girl. She clicked off her computer and tried to sleep. Now that Bailey was getting better, Claudia knew the next few days were going to be busy.

Artie, Pete, and Leena listened to Claudia's recording of the night before in silence, not wanting to miss anything. The silence continued minutes after the message ended.

In fact, they were all so lost in their thoughts that they didn't hear Claudia and Bailey come down the stairs. Well, Artie and Pete didn't. Leena could feel their auras getting stronger with the proximity.

"Up to speed, class?" Claudia asked the group, effectively making Artie and Pete jump.

"Yes," Leena spoke for the group. "Finished it a few minutes ago."

Claudia nodded and led Bailey to the couch in the living room to sit. Claudia sat next to her, staying by her side as she looked around the room at the rest of the team.

"How's the arm?" Artie asked, finding his voice. Bailey glanced at her arm, still in its sling.

"I can move my fingers," Bailey answered lightly. She demonstrated, flexing her fingers one at a time, slowly.

"Good. That's good," Artie said once she finished.

An awkward silence fell over the group. Artie and Pete gazed at Bailey while Claudia and Leena silently willed someone else to break the ice. Bailey wiped her forehead with her unhurt hand and Artie realized she probably still had a fever, or maybe she was just extremely nervous. With that thought, he cleared his throat.

"So," all eyes turned towards Artie. "Just, you know, in case you don't know or recognize us. I'm Artie." Bailey nodded. "And that's Leena," he gestured to her and Leena gave Bailey a comforting smile. "And I believe you've met Pete." Bailey glanced at Artie before turning her eyes toward Pete, who gave a small wave. Bailey nodded again. Artie clapped his hands together, gaining everyone's attention once again. "How about you tell us about yourself, Bailey? Claudia seems to think you are a genius." He offered her to start the conversation.

Bailey shrugged noncommittally but smiled at the compliment. "I guess so…" she started but then sighed. "I shouldn't be telling you about me."

"You shouldn't even be here at all," Pete spoke up.

Bailey turned toward him and opened her mouth to sound a retort but instead merely shrugged again and said, "Yeah, well… wasn't my fault."

Artie leaned forward in interest, "Speaking of, where did you say you got that bracelet?"

Bailey looked at the coffee table in front of her. "A friend gave it to me."

Artie sat back, not believing her one bit. "Sure. And did this friend of yours know about its powers? Did you?"

Bailey closed her eyes and shook her head. "At the time, no. I didn't think anything of it." She stared at the table once more and continued almost ashamedly, "but once it was on, I couldn't take it off. It was weird, yeah, but it wasn't until I cut myself and the next day it was healed that I realized something crazy was happening… I think the person who gave me the bracelet knew about it, too."

"Why do you think that?" Artie asked.

"Just… just the way he wanted me to have it and wear it right away. But then…" Bailey looked at Artie, "he didn't mention it again. Like he knew."

Artie rubbed his goatee in thought.

"Was the guy that gave you the bracelet the same person that attacked you later on?" Pete asked, his grudge with the girl forgotten.

Bailey rubbed her eyes before answering, "I don't remember."

"Is that why his face was dark in my dream," Claudia finally spoke up, "because you can't remember what he looked like?"

Bailey chuckled desperately, suddenly very tired. "I don't know, Claudia. I don't even know what dreams or visions or whatever you are calling them, you're having."

The team shared a collective confused face. It was Claudia that asked, "You didn't know?"

"About what?" Bailey asked, frustrated.

"I've been having dreams. Really vivid dreams," Claudia said slowly, trying to figure out how to explain. "I think they are your memories." It was Bailey's turn to look confused. "Bailey, that's how we know so much about you. About the bracelet. I thought you knew. I thought you were seeing what I was seeing."

Bailey shook her head but quickly stopped when she became dizzy. "No. I mean, I knew there was something but I didn't know what. What have you been dreaming about?"

Claudia looked over Bailey's shoulder in thought, the details of her dreams coming to the forefront of her mind. "Uh, the first one was when you were attacked. I saw the guy that hurt you, but I couldn't see his face… I saw you use the bracelet's power and practically explode." Bailey's eyes widened but Claudia continued, "Um, a different one, you came over for Thanksgiving. You were on break from school. And the last one, we were just talking. About random stuff. Then Pete came over and then left to find the other bracelet."

"Yeah, I remember that," Bailey whispered, eyes glossed over as she imagined them playing out.

"Bailey, that last one," Pete interjected, "Claudia said it was only us two talking. You weren't around. If these are your memories then how come everything we said to each other is so clear?"

Bailey frowned, "Uh, I was – I was eavesdropping. I never actually left the room."

No one spoke for a few moments until Artie, once again, derailed their trains of thoughts. "What have you been dreaming of?" When Bailey didn't answer, he continued, "If Claudia saw your memories and you didn't, you had to have been dreaming of something else."

Bailey felt her eyes begin to dry out and blinked, effectively bringing her completely back into the conversation. "Just dreams."

Artie pushed his glasses back onto his nose, "You don't remember?" Bailey shook her head. "Are you sure? You don't remember the nightmares that terrified you during your first few days here?"

Bailey's eyes widened just slightly enough for Artie to catch. She didn't speak of them but it was evident on her face that she was thinking about the dreams. Her eyes began to water but she ignored the sudden heat coming from her wrist.

"Bailey," Artie began in a softer tone, "we can't help if you don't tell us what you know."

"Artie," Claudia said when she noticed Bailey's scar had begun to glow. The others followed Claudia's gaze and instantly tensed.

Claudia ignored her friends' panic and grabbed Bailey's upper arms, "Bailey, listen to me."

"No," she whispered sadly. "I can't."

A single tear fell from Bailey's eye before they turned a ghostly white. She looked past Claudia and locked eyes with Pete. "I'm sorry."

Then everything went white and the entire group collapsed into unconsciousness.

_It was as if everyone was crammed into one body. Artie, Claudia, Leena and Pete all looking out from one place. All playing the same part in another memory. _

_They were standing against a large door, clutching the doorknob for dear life. Afraid to enter the huge room and run to their brother. He was standing in the middle of the lab, holding a box out in front of him, facing them and a man who stood between them. _

_Wind and electricity filled the air and a golden light shimmered between Joshua and the group. He was yelling something, trying to get them to understand. _

"_Remember," his voice finally echoed into existence, "I will always, always…" a blinding white light filled the room and cut the end of his sentence off. They screamed as the light illuminated the dark room. A short moment later, it disappeared. Taking their brother with it._

_Before they could fully comprehend what had happened, the empty room began to swirl and twist; the walls moved and ceiling lowered. The younger Artie faded from view and before they knew it, the group found themselves standing in a plain room - an office - filled with brown boxes meant for one of two things. Moving in or moving out. Somehow they knew, deep down, they knew the woman who worked here was packing to leave town._

_Their fear was proven correct by the ghost of a woman's face filled with sorrow and fright that turned solid as she pulled away. Two words echoed around the empty room. _

"_I'm leaving." _

_They couldn't move; too shocked to do anything other than watch as the woman left without looking back._

_Once again, the room began to change in front of their eyes. This time they found themselves standing inside a white walled lobby. A blonde woman looked up from her seated position across from them and smiled, "Checking in or visiting?"_

"_Checking in," they said without thought. The blonde nurse supplied a clipboard and they signed their name. The header of the paper read 'Mellinger's Psychiatric Facility.' _

_Taking the clipboard back, the blonde gestured to their right, "Right this way, please." The group glanced behind them, taking in the bright, sunny view of the outside world because they knew it would be the last look in a long time. They then followed the woman through a set of doors and into a hallway of more white walls._

_Then they began to run. The doors along the walls morphed into pipes that held explosives. They didn't notice the open door behind them, only what was in front and far away. More white and a large door that they couldn't seem to get closer to. But they kept running. Desperation seeped deep into their pores, fueling their fast pace. _

_When they finally reached the door, they pushed it open, not caring if it swung into the outside wall. But they were too late. The only trace left of their best friend was the dust cloud kicked up from the car and the tracks it left as it sped off. Leaving behind a broken family. They slowed to a stop. Not knowing what to do, they just stood there in grief, waiting, hoping she would turn around. _

_But instead, before the last piece of dust could settle on the hard ground, everything went black._

"What was that all about?" Pete asked once everyone had come to. Everyone except Bailey who had been taken back upstairs to rest.

"I think those were the 'visions' Claudia was talking about," answered Leena.

"But didn't she say she saw Bailey's life? Not, you know… ours."

"You mean yours and Claudia's?" Artie corrected. Pete nodded somewhat tentatively. "She did."

"That's never happened before," the red head's voice came from the doorway. She came in and sat heavily on the couch.

Artie quirked an eyebrow, "You're not staying with Bailey?"

Claudia shook her head lightly, "I would but I want to be part of this conversation… And since you guys aren't jumping to your feet to run upstairs, I figured I should come here." She added when no one moved.

"Works for me," Leena offered.

Claudia gave the older woman a grateful smile. "So as I was saying, that's never happened before. I've only ever seen Bailey's memories of before she came here. Never my own – not that I want to be reminded of those particular ones anyway." Pete nodded his agreement. "And not to mention, no one else has been with me. Now _that_ was a weird feeling."

The group nodded but kept quiet. Artie and Leena had heard about each of those memories - even been involved in some - but it was completely different to experience them firsthand. And the sensation of sharing the same body was something out of a horror film. They couldn't see each other but they knew they were there. All four had to play out the dream as one – no communication nor could they react the way they wanted. They could only watch.

"But why?" Pete asked the question that was on everyone's minds. "Why only Claudia and me?"

"If I had to guess," Artie said, "it's because you are the only ones who Bailey really knows."

"But the details?" Claudia asked, "Artie, we wouldn't have told her all of that. I mean, I know we might in the future and all that but," she glanced at Pete, "I doubt either of us would go into everything with her."

Artie rubbed his eyebrows in thought, "you think she used her power to see into our or your minds." It was said as a statement more than a question. Claudia didn't have to respond; the look of worry on her face was enough.

"It's possible," Leena suggested, "she might not have even known."

"She did," Pete said suddenly and with such conviction, everyone turned towards him. "She said 'sorry' before we all passed out. She knew something was going to happen."

"Then she knows her power is increasing," Artie murmured, suddenly frustrated with the girl upstairs. He stood quickly, "she knows more than she's telling us."

"Well, that's deserves a 'duh'," Claudia rolled her eyes. "Artie, she's from the future. Of course she knows more than us."

"Claudia," Artie turned his glare toward his apprentice, "she knows about the bracelets and she's not telling us. She's preventing us from helping her. On purpose. Claudia, she is stopping us from saving her life."

Claudia met Artie's gaze, studying his eyes, sensing the underlying concern in them. Pete and Leena looked between the two, afraid to break the stream of thoughts going back and forth from mentor to apprentice.

Disturbed by the thought of Bailey hurting herself, Claudia didn't even blink when Artie turned and headed for the stairs, mumbling, "I'm going to talk to her."

Claudia followed Artie with her eyes, staying rooted to the spot, almost in protest. After a short moment, Pete followed and with an apprehensive glance at Claudia, so did Leena.

Claudia breathed out and closed her eyes, fighting the tears threatening to spill. With a deep, calming breath Claudia raised her head and muttered to the empty room, "Bailey, what the hell are you doing?"

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**Again, reviews = love. :)**


	7. Why

**A/N: I figured I'd go ahead and update since I have the time. Thanks for the reviews so far and maybe you'll get some of your answers in this chapter. **

**Also, events from _Where and When_**** are mentioned so if you don't know what happens in that episode, then you should go find out. ;)**

******Anyway, hope you enjoy this nice, long chapter. And as always, please review!

* * *

**

Upstairs, Claudia found Bailey propped up against the head board with the rest of the group gathered around the bed. Pete and Leena hovered behind Artie who was sitting in a chair near her head. It was obvious to Claudia that Bailey hadn't woken on her own. Her head was resting in her palm, her elbow propped up on her leg, trying to stay awake. She also looked like she had a major headache but it was impossible to tell what was causing it – the power, waking up too soon, or the ambush of the team.

"Look, I know you have questions," Bailey said through gritted teeth, clutching her head, "but you can't expect me to tell you everything. I don't even know everything."

Artie leaned forward in the chair, using the proximity to watch the girl's every move. "But you know a lot. A lot more than you're telling us."

Bailey glanced through her eyelashes at Artie but didn't respond.

"Bailey, we are just trying to help," Leena said gently but failed to draw her attention from the mattress.

"What do you know about the bracelet that gave you that power?" Artie asked bluntly, tired of skirting around the issue. "And what do you know about the person that attacked you?"

Bailey didn't say a word and for a minute the room was silent. Then, just as Artie opened his mouth to continue his interrogation, Bailey leaned her head back against the head board and closed her eyes. Artie waited with bated breath and finally Bailey decided answer.

"I don't know where it's from," she said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "I told you before a friend gave it to me. That's the truth. I don't know where he got it. As for the powers," Bailey shook her head and stared at the ceiling, "I didn't know anything when I first got it. I cut myself and the bracelet healed it. I thought it was one of the newest first-aid tech. But then…" Bailey sighed.

"What happened, Bailey?" Artie prodded.

"I started having dreams." Bailey said almost with regret. "I saw the other bracelet. Who had it and what he had done with it. Where he was… That's when things started happening with mine. I could use it to defend myself. Create a wall, like you guys saw."

The team nodded and stayed quiet, waiting for Bailey to finish. She looked between Leena and Pete.

"And I'm sorry about that. I just – I can't control it sometimes. It's just an instinct to protect myself and the bracelet's power just heightens it. I'm sorry."

Pete and Leena exchanged a glance but before they could say anything, Artie interrupted to keep them on point. "What about the other bracelet, what does it do?"

Bailey frowned and looked into the distance, trying to find the best way of describing it without revealing too much. "It just… it's like the twin of mine. But you know, like yin and yang. Good and bad."

"Offense and defense," Pete offered.

"Exactly," Bailey agreed. "Where this one can only defend itself… the other hurts."

"What if you have both?" Claudia finally spoke up from the doorway.

Bailey met her eyes for an instant and then shook her head. "I don't know."

Artie leaned back in his chair and pushed his glasses back on his nose, never taking his eyes from Bailey. A moment passed before he started again, "What about these dreams? Why was the last one different from all the others?"

Bailey frowned, "What do you mean?"

"We all saw the same thing," Pete clarified. "And we saw our memories, not yours."

Bailey shrugged, "I don't know why."

Artie chuckled mirthlessly, "Oh, don't lie to us, Bailey." Her eyes widened in shock. "Right before we all lost consciousness, you said you were sorry. If you didn't know what was going to happen then what were you sorry for?"

"Wha- I don't-" Bailey cut off. Eyes still wide but a confused frown that slowly turned into realization made its way onto her face. Looking at the wall across from her, expression the same, Bailey whispered, "What did you see?"

Claudia took the moment to come forward and stand near the foot of the bed, roughly where Bailey was staring. "We all saw the worst moments of Pete's and my life. When my brother disappeared for twelve years, when I checked into Mellinger's and when Pete's girlfriend left him. And… And then when Myka left." The last said timidly.

Bailey finally met Claudia's eyes and whispered one word. "Myka?"

The silence in the room was so thick it could have been cut with a knife.

But instead, it was shaken away with a soft whimper as a hand clutched a head and eyes closed in pain.

Claudia moved in front of Artie and gently grabbed Bailey's shoulder, "Bailey? Are you okay?"

A few more seconds passed in the same, until Bailey finally nodded and forced a smile, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a headache."

Claudia sat down by Bailey's feet and kept a concerned gaze on the girl. Bailey had moved her head back against the head board and closed her eyes as if keeping them closed would chase away the pain.

"Bailey-" Artie started but was cut off by Leena who was staring indignantly at the man.

"Artie. She needs to rest."

"No," Bailey said still with her eyes closed, nearly making Claudia jump. "It's fine. Might as well get it out now. No time like the present." She smiled ruefully. Then waved her hand in a way to indicate they should just get on with it.

Artie refused to look at Leena, knowing she was still glaring at him no matter what Bailey had just said. Instead he cleared his throat and leaned forward once more. Deciding to forgo the ominous mention of Myka, he rehashed the earlier conversation. "You never answered my question."

Bailey frowned, "which one was that again?"

"Why the past dream or vision was different."

Bailey breathed in and half opened her eyes, her expression full of sorrow. "If you saw what I think you saw… then you saw the same thing – or at least part of it - that I did right before I found myself here."

Pete was the first to recover - or at any rate, the first to ask his question, and feel like a broken record at the same time. "Why?"

Bailey rubbed her hand over her face. "Because Pete," she said, finally becoming frustrated, "the bracelet I had heals things. It fixes things. Everything you saw has potential for me to fix. Your doctor was right; I don't think I was sent here on a whim. I'm supposed to change something."

"No," Pete said firmly and without hesitation, drawing the eyes of the entire group. "We've already tried that time travel stuff and it didn't work. I tried everything I could to change the past, and nothing changed. Those women still died." He turned to Artie as if silently asking for his help. But then he turned to Bailey in anger, "Bailey, you showed up here because the artifact you used messed up. This has just been blown way out of proportion. Everything's been messed up. You can't change anything." He strode towards the door but stopped and said in a definite tone, "there's nothing to change. Everything's how it should be so leave it alone." Then he left, not waiting to hear anyone's response.

The room was dead silent. Enough to hear a lone snow plow push what was left of the snow off of the streets. Claudia and Leena were staring at the empty doorway, lost in thought. Bailey closed her eyes once more and fought off tears, knowing full well Artie's gaze was fixed on her.

Artie stood, grabbing Claudia and Leena's full attention. "Pete's right."

Claudia's mouth fell open, "Artie-"

"Claudia," Artie cut her off. "We've wasted too much time trying to figure out why Bailey ended up here. What we need to focus on is how to get her back to her time and that's it."

Artie followed Pete's footsteps and left the girls in shock. Leena recovered quickly and followed Artie out in a fast pace, mumbling something about talking sense into him.

Claudia turned her gaze toward Bailey who had yet to open her eyes. She felt tremendously sorry for the girl. Lost in time, hurt, and with no known way home. "Bailey…" she started softly but found she couldn't think of anything to say.

Fortunately, Bailey merely shook her head, "Don't… don't worry about it, okay?" She opened her eyes and stared at the red head. Claudia could see the tears begging to be shed but didn't say anything. Merely smiled and nodded.

Claudia made to leave but stopped at Bailey's small voice. "Be here when I wake up. Please."

Claudia smiled again but it disappeared as soon as it arrived. "Of course."

* * *

To say the search for a way to get Bailey back to her time was as useless as finding out where the bracelet came from in the first place was an understatement. At least Bailey knew the answer to the latter question, even if she wasn't sharing at the moment.

Regardless, Pete and Artie worked fiercely on the answer to the first question. How to get Bailey home. But first they needed to know how Bailey got to her past in the start. And that required the answer to the other question they couldn't answer: what the hell kind of artifact did Bailey find?

Pete hit his head on the table in frustration. It was a mindless circle consisting of unanswerable questions. Very annoying. To add to that annoyance, he couldn't stop the nagging thought in the back of his mind about Myka. What did she have to do with anything? She was gone. He flirted a little with the idea that Bailey was supposed to somehow 'fix' the situation with her. But he quickly dismantled the thought because if he couldn't bring her back, then how was a twenty year old from the future that didn't even know Myka supposed to do it? Impossible. Besides, he had already dabbled with time travel. It doesn't work.

And so, he found himself sitting at the dining table among piles of papers his boss recently vacated to make the long drive to the warehouse on the newly – and finally – cleared road. Pete offered to go with him but Artie thought it best for him to stay, just in case. _Just in case what?_ Pete thought bitterly. _He probably just wanted time alone from all of us, especially after that argument with Leena._

Pete couldn't blame him, really. He desperately wanted to leave too. Even thought about taking the SUV out for a drive just to get away. But he couldn't take time for himself. Not yet. He had to figure out everything with Bailey first, then he could rest. Besides, he had the ground floor to himself for the time being. Claudia and Bailey were in the bedroom and Leena was who-knows-where doing who-knows-what. He learned quickly to not think about it, she was like a miniature Mrs. Frederic. You don't ask because you won't get an answer.

Hours passed and night fell and Pete was in the same position, physically and mentally. No word from either his boss – good or bad – or his teammates. Artie would probably spend the night in the warehouse, working. So, with nothing new to do, he decided to head to bed. A good night's rest would do him good. Maybe clear his mind. On the way up, he peeked into Claudia's room to find both girls sleeping comfortably. He didn't know where Leena was so he just stated to the empty hallway, "night, Leena," and left for his room.

* * *

Claudia had stayed awake the whole time Bailey was out. For the most part, she searched the warehouse databases but found nothing new. A few hours in, Claudia held in a yelp when she heard Bailey call her name. She was sweating again and looked tired, even though she just had a five hour nap.

Claudia closed her laptop and turned toward Bailey, "hey, how are you?"

"I'm fine," Bailey said softly.

Bailey didn't try to sit up this time so Claudia laid down across from her. Once Claudia was settled, Bailey asked quietly, "Do you believe me?"

Claudia hesitated but then said, "Yes."

The corners of Bailey's mouth drew up and then it turned into a relieved grin, "Thank you."

Claudia just stared at Bailey, trying to read Bailey's thoughts. "But what aren't you telling us?"

Bailey glanced down but then back to her eyes, "I know why I'm here."

Claudia eyebrows rose, "really?"

Bailey nodded. "I think so. I meant what I said earlier – that I am supposed to fix something. I think I know what it is."

"Myka," Claudia whispered.

Bailey nodded. "Look, I don't know everything. And I sure as hell don't know everything about the bracelet I used, no matter what your friends think. But I know, or I think, that I am at a sort of fork in the road of time. What happens in the next few days can change a lot of things… or just one thing that happens eventually. And I think the way it happened in my time is the worst of the two."

Claudia frowned; attempting to keep up with what Bailey was saying and having a surprisingly hard time with it. Once she got it, she nodded for Bailey to continue.

"I know the artifact brought me here to fix what has been messed up. Or to at least try to fix it," Bailey ended with excitement lighting up her eyes.

Claudia looked away for a second, collecting her thoughts, "So… you're saying that the artifact brought you here to bring Myka back?"

"I think so… I mean, what other significant event has happened? Why else would I be here?"

"But how do you know this will change anything?" Claudia asked despite the growing excitement in her heart. Working with Artie had definitely started to rub off on her. "How do you know this hasn't already happened and everything turned out the same? And what about the Grandfather Clause – you change this and then you don't get sent back in time to change anything, so nothing has changed or will change?"

"Honestly? I don't. But I have to try." Bailey looked down and began slowly, trying to explain everything very clearly, "And… look - just think of time like math." Claudia nodded. "When you look at an equation, you can have multiple factors but end up with the same result, right?" Claudia nodded again. "You know five plus five equals ten. But so does six plus four and three plus seven and so on."

Claudia caught on with skeptical eyes, "so you bring Myka back and something happens in the future that's different – like you want – but the same enough that you still end up here?"

Bailey glanced every which way as she put together everything that was said, then nodded, "pretty much."

A moment passed and then Claudia smiled, "you are a genius."

"Learn from the best," Bailey shared the smile and then more seriously, asked, "So will you help me?"

"Help you bring Myka back?" the red head asked with a raised eyebrow, "Duh."

Bailey let out a genuine smile that felt foreign to her as Claudia clambered for her laptop. A few seconds on it and Claudia had Myka's profile on the screen. Bailey shifted to watch Claudia work her magic. It took less time than usual because as Claudia used to secretly check up on Myka and what she had been doing the past few months, she had everything bookmarked.

Since she left the warehouse, Myka had spent all her time with her parents in Colorado – Claudia silently hoped she was there contemplating her decision. But recently and much to Claudia's dismay, Myka had returned to Washington, protecting the President.

Bailey saw this bit of information and visibly slumped, "we have to go all the way to D.C.?"

Claudia merely shook her head, "don't you know what tomorrow is?"

Bailey shook her head and Claudia scoffed lightly, "silly girl. Tomorrow's Thanksgiving. Myka'll be with her parents. In Colorado." Claudia clicked and brought up the address. "About an 8 hour drive but it'll be worth it."

The two shared a smile and decided to leave after everyone had gone to sleep. The less people that knew, the less chance anyone would be able to stop them. And, it would give Claudia a few more hours to sleep before they left. So, with their plans all set, they both settled down to doze for a few hours.

_Claudia was on the couch once again. Her laptop was sitting in front of her in the off mode. She stood and stretched, realizing she'd probably been in the same position for a while. She made her way toward the kitchen and found Bailey foraging through the fridge._

"_Hey, Bailey," Claudia greeted causally._

_Bailey jumped up and looked at Claudia sheepishly. "Oh, hi, Claudia."_

_Claudia frowned, "What's up with you?"_

"_Uh," Bailey looked down at her clothes, "hope you don't mind but I kind of didn't bring many clothes from school." Claudia raised an eyebrow, having no idea what she was talking about. "I mean, they fit and they're really old so you can't care too much about them." She held her arms out and Claudia realized what she was wearing; a black and white top with jeans that were apparently Claudia's old clothes._

"_Oh," Claudia waved a hand, dismissing the teens worry, "its fine."_

_Bailey smiled, "Snow," and went back to searching the fridge._

_Claudia wandered around and looked over Bailey's shoulder into the fridge. It was packed with food. _

"_What are you looking for?" Claudia asked, not understanding why the girl was having trouble finding something to eat._

"_Umm," the girl hummed; "Aha!" she exclaimed and reached in, pulling out a bottle of chocolate syrup. _

_Claudia shook her head, "out of all the possibilities of fruits and vegetables and good stuff, you pull out chocolate syrup?" _

_Bailey smiled, "Yup, everything tastes better with –"_

_She cut off and grabbed her head with her right hand. Claudia saw the white bracelet glow for a few seconds as she ran to Bailey's side. "Bailey? What's wrong?"_

_Bailey's eyes were shut tight and her grip on the bottle a near death grip. When she didn't answer, Claudia grabbed her shoulders, "Bailey!"_

_Bailey exhaled and relaxed her grip. Still worried, Claudia asked, "Are you okay?"_

_Bailey gave her a reassuring smile when she realized how worried she was. "What? I just straightened up too fast. I was seeing stars, hate that feeling." Then she turned to grab silverware and finish with her meal._

_Claudia didn't move from her spot. Bailey didn't notice, instead asked lightly, "How about we do something huh? You, me, and dad."_

_Claudia shook herself out of her confusion, "Today?"_

_Bailey nodded, "It'd be fun."_

_Claudia shook her head again, "can't. It's Thanksgiving." She had no idea how she knew that but she did and Bailey nodded sadly._

"_Yeah," she breathed out but then smiled as she finished her sandwich, "just an idea."_

_Claudia returned the smile but then something came over her, she suddenly felt compelled to ask, "Do you know if Myka is coming?"_

_Bailey gave her a blank stare, "Who?"_

_Claudia rubbed her eye self-consciously, "Nevermind."_

_Bailey nodded slowly, bewildered, but then turned to leave, "well then, I'm headed back upstairs. See you later."_

_Claudia watched her run out the room and then flinched when the Farnsworth buzzed in her pocket. Pete's older face lit up the small screen. The message was short and sweet but for some reason left Claudia feeling cold. _

"_Snagged and bagged. Be back soon for Turkey." _

Claudia woke to a buzzing sound near her ear. She jerked awake as she registered the tone of her phone alarm. She quickly turned it off and checked the time; it was after two in the morning. Rubbing her eyes of sleep, Claudia saw Bailey hadn't woken. She pushed on Bailey's shoulder but flinched back as if burnt. Bailey was hot again, hotter than normal and sweating.

"Bailey," Claudia whispered, trying to wake the sick girl but not Leena or Pete, or worse, Artie – if he was even back from the warehouse. She reached out again and now expecting the heat, didn't pull away at the hot touch as she roused Bailey. "Hey, it's time to get up."

Bailey mumbled something incomprehensible but opened her eyes halfway. Not wanting Bailey to fall back asleep, Claudia took what she could get and grabbed Bailey's unhurt arm. She pulled her into sitting position.

Bailey moaned in pain and Claudia had horribly sensible second thoughts about the whole plan. But the pain seemed to wake Bailey even more and she could hold herself up on her own.

"Bailey, you okay?" Claudia asked as she slowly let go of her arm.

Bailey took her now free arm and groggily wiped at her face. "Tired. But I'll be alright. Let's go."

Claudia nodded and helped Bailey out of the bed. Thirty anxious minutes later, Claudia and Bailey were on the road toward Colorado City.

The long road trip was relatively silent. At first, fear kept the two girls quiet. They were afraid one of the others had heard them leaving and were going to try and contact them or follow. But a couple of hours in, with no other cars in sight, they relaxed. They made small talk for a little bit, avoiding things that couldn't be discussed. But eventually, even though Bailey tried her hardest to stay awake, her sickness forced her to rest. It was a good thing Claudia brought energy drinks. Driving without a loud radio and with a sleeping passenger in the middle of the night was usually a bad idea. But the energy drinks kept her awake and alert; not that watching over a sometimes shivering, sometimes sweating profusely, and sometimes mumbling car-mate couldn't keep her awake. The drinks were a 'just in case' and smart backup.

Finally, seven and some hours later, Claudia parked across the street from _Bering and Sons_, the bookstore. Myka's home.

Bailey felt the cease in motion and opened her eyes, squinting against the morning sunlight. "We're here?"

Claudia pointed across the street at the home above the shop, "That's it."

Bailey followed her line of sight and nodded. "She's in there."

Claudia also nodded and tried to look through the large windows, "Yep. Unless she's out running or something which would kind of ruin the moment."

Unbeknownst to Claudia, Bailey flexed her fingers. Finding no pain, she began taking off the makeshift sling. At first Claudia was startled but once Bailey stretched out her stiff arm without wincing, she relaxed.

Once Bailey was satisfied with the full range of movement her arm provided she turned to look at Claudia, "Guess we should go in then?"

Try as she might, Claudia could barely suppress the mounting excitement that was building in her. It was even stomping out the nervousness about seeing Myka for the first time in months – since she left with only a note. "Didn't come all the way here for nothing."

Bailey could read Claudia's emotions like a book and grinned, "Off we go then."

The two exited the car at the same time and crossed the empty street. No one was out. It was Thanksgiving after all. Claudia was surprised to see an 'Open' sign on the store door, even if the hours were cut short.

Both of the girls stopped for a few seconds outside of the store to gather their courage. They entered one after the other. The bell chimed above the door announcing their presence in the small store. None of the Bering's were on the first level, probably because they hadn't expected any visitors. Bailey glanced around at the unknown titles, smiling when she recognized one.

They both held their breath when they heard someone come down the stairs. They waited patiently a few rows in from the door and Claudia smiled when she saw Warren Bering looking healthy as ever.

He was looking at the back of a book in his hands as he made his way toward his potential customers. Wearing a nice blue shirt and slacks, glasses hitched on his nose, he welcomed the girls in his usual nice, but gruff voice. "Welcome to _Bering and Sons_. As soon as the deed goes through it will be renamed _Bering_-"

He cut off when he recognized Claudia. He squinted at her beaming face and pointed a finger at her, "Aren't you –"

"Claudia Donovan." Claudia took his outstretched hand and turned it into a handshake. "We met, a year ago now I believe, under not so great circumstances. I'm surprised you remember me at all, with you being completely out of it and everything."

Claudia stopped her rambling when Bailey cleared her throat, "Oh and this is Bailey. Bailey, Mr. Bering."

Bailey smiled and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Warren wore a bemused expression through the whole greeting but finally offered a small smile as he shook Bailey's hand. The frown returned, "Bailey, is it? You feeling alright? Awfully warm."

Bailey just smiled and took back her hand, "I'll be fine. Thanks."

"Sir," Claudia waited until Warren tore his gaze from Bailey, "we were actually wondering if Myka was here."

The older man nodded, "She's upstairs."

Claudia looked up at the ceiling, as if she could see Myka standing there, "Can we talk to her?"

Warren hesitated. Not much but enough for Claudia's breath to hitch, for all the fears of a wasted trip and betrayal to her friends to come to the forefront of her mind. But then he nodded slowly, "I'll go get her."

Claudia gave a full watt smile, "Thanks so much."

He turned slowly and made his way toward the back. Claudia couldn't stop grinning and it even made Bailey smile a little bit, despite nerves for the inevitable conversation bubbling to the surface.

Minutes passed and Bailey started to feel really tired. As casually as she could, she leaned on a shelf of books and watched as Claudia paced the tiny isle; the anxiety finally getting to her. Neither saw or heard the tentative footsteps come from behind. Bailey was about to go and find a place to sit when a voice stopped her and Claudia where they were.

"Claudia? What are you doing here?"

* * *

**A/N: Like it? Don't like it? Let me know!**


	8. Are you coming?

**Hey, I'm back. Sorry for the delay. **

**This is it. The end...**

**

* * *

**

"Myka," the red head breathed before rushing the older woman and pulling her into a bone crushing hug. Myka smiled in shock and shyly returned the hug. "It's so good to see you," Claudia mumbled into Myka's shoulder.

A full thirty seconds later, Claudia finally let go but she still couldn't get rid of that smile.

Myka glanced with wide eyes between Claudia and a sick but happy looking Bailey still leaning on the shelves. "What's going on? Is someone hurt?"

Claudia's smile darkened a little bit. "Don't worry. Pete and Artie and Leena are all fine." Myka visibly relaxed. "As for what's going on… well, the short version? A lot."

Myka looked at the girl leaning on the shelves, "Are you alright?"

Bailey grinned despite herself, "I'll be fine."

Claudia walked over to Bailey and then looked back at Myka. "Meet Bailey. Bailey, meet Myka."

Myka glanced between the two but settled once again on the redhead. "Claudia, what's going on?" She asked more firmly.

Claudia's smile faded now as she moved closer to Myka. "Is it okay to talk here? Or is there somewhere more private? Geeze, that sounds clichéd."

Myka glanced out the huge windows at the front of the store and then pointed her thumb over her shoulder, "I'll take you to the back."

Claudia nodded and the three walked toward the back of the store. A few small windows let the morning sun shine into the small room. Myka flipped a switch and the old lights flickered on after a few seconds. The back room was nothing more than an extension of the front but with more boxes and layers of dust. Bailey found a sturdy box to sit on and perched there while Myka went farther in and then turned around, crossed her arms and stared at Claudia. "Now are you going to tell me what's going on?"

Claudia clasped her hands together, suddenly very uncomfortable, "Uh, right. Long version time. Um, basically, it all started with the freak weather storm we had. Four feet in four hours, crazy. Not to mention the fact that all of us were stuck in the same house for days. I don't know how Artie lasted without the ability to run off the warehouse. And Pete! Can't believe he was able to stay in one place -"

"Claudia." Myka held out a hand to stop the girl's rambling. She refused to admit her stomach instantly tightened the moment Claudia mentioned Pete. He was a sore subject for Myka, ever since he gave up trying to convince her to go back to the warehouse. And the way Claudia so casually mentioned him made her internally cringe. Her interruption was more to stop her last words to him from imploding her mind rather than to startle Claudia.

After a few soundless seconds, in which Claudia waited rather impatiently for an elaboration that would never come, the older woman finally raised an expectant eyebrow. Claudia cleared her throat and continued.

"Right. Anyway, that's where Bailey comes in. She… well, she…" Claudia trailed off.

"I'm from the future," Bailey announced from the back. Claudia inwardly cringed; she had hoped to be a lot more subtle about that particular revelation.

Myka stared at Bailey for a long moment. "What do you mean 'from the future'?"

Bailey smiled, "Exactly what you're thinking."

Myka changed her glare to Claudia who shrugged, "It's true."

Myka uncrossed her arms and put them on her hips, still somewhat in shock. "Okay. So she's from the future," she reiterated, not quite sure if she believed it but she knew what could happen in the warehouse. _And I've already dealt with someone from the past so why not the future_, Myka thought fairly bitterly. "What does that have to do with me?"

Claudia held up a hand, "Getting to that… So ever heard of genetic suffusion?"

Myka paused in thought, searching through her mental warehouse manual. Coming up with nothing, she shook her head. "No. Why?"

"Because that's what happened to Bailey," Claudia pointed behind her. Myka glanced at Bailey as she held up her right arm. Myka could just make out a faint scar on her wrist. "She used an artifact. It was a bracelet. And something that has only happened four times before her happened. You know how artifacts become artifacts because of people?" Myka nodded faintly. "Well, sometimes, and I mean very, very rarely, like super rarely, a person can be imbued with the power of the artifact."

Myka stared at Bailey for a few moments, trying to judge if what Claudia said was true. But then chided herself for even thinking Claudia would lie to her. She slowly made her way to where Bailey was sitting heavily. Without asking, Bailey held out her hand. Myka took it gently and grazed her fingers lightly over the scar. Suddenly, the scar began to glow and get hot. Myka quickly dropped Bailey's wrist and the light died down.

"Okay, what the hell was that?" Myka asked Claudia who had come up behind her and saw the whole thing.

Claudia exchanged a glance with Bailey, "I don't know. That's never happened before."

Bailey smiled faintly, "I think it found what needs to be fixed."

"What are you talking about?" Myka demanded as she backed away from the two slightly, "what do you mean 'fixed'?"

Claudia just stared at Bailey. "You were right," she whispered excitedly.

Bailey returned the gin but Myka cut any response off. "Claudia, if you don't tell me what's going on-"

Claudia spun around. "Myka. It's all good. Look, Bailey will explain everything way better than I can. I promise." She smiled to comfort Myka but it only made her more confused.

"Claudia, what-"

Claudia held up her hands, "No. No more Claudia. Ask Bailey," she pointed to the girl. Then Claudia turned to leave.

"Where are you going?" Myka asked, beyond confused and getting frustrated with all the secrecy.

Claudia glanced at Bailey before looking at Myka. "To browse your selection of books. Didn't really get a chance to last time. Besides, the following is for your ears only." Another smile and a wink, then she was gone.

The door clicking shut echoed in the small, silent room. Bailey calmly stayed where she was, watching and waiting for Myka to make the first move.

Myka folded her arms again and moved her weight from one foot to the other as if deciding whether to follow Claudia outside or to trust her. Finally she put her hand to her head and then gestured at Bailey. "Alright. What's going on?"

Bailey grinned slightly and shrugged easily. "Like Claudia said, a lot."

Myka sighed exasperatedly and found another box to sit on but then stood up once more, unable to calm down. Bailey watched with slight interest and winced when a stabbing pain racked her head, but if Myka saw it, she didn't let on. Bailey took a deep breath and began.

"Basically, the first thing you have to understand and believe is I'm from the future." Myka nodded reluctantly. "The second is that I don't know you."

Myka looked slightly alarmed but then rationalized it, "So we haven't met yet, you probably aren't from around here."

Bailey shook her head, "Myka, that's just it. I was born in Rapid City. My mom lives there. My dad travels a lot. But I knew or know Claudia in my time, her future. I know Pete. By all accounts I should know you. But I don't."

"So what then? I'm dead?" She laughed mirthlessly, "great thanks."

"No. I don't think so." Bailey stared at Myka, trying to find the right words. Needing her understand. "There's another thing. About that artifact, it was a bracelet. A white bracelet that could heal and create defensive walls and the like… It also has a twin. A black one. One that hurts and attacks people."

"Like yin and yang?" Myka asked, frowning.

"Yes, exactly," Bailey said happy that Myka was at least participating. "Since they're twins, when one person wears one, they know if someone else is wearing the other. I think together they can give someone great and horrible powers but I'm only speculating based on what happens when they're separate."

Myka narrowed her eyes in thought. Bailey glanced away from her intense gaze for a few moments but then met Myka's eyes. "I was attacked. By a guy who had the black one. He wanted both, surprise, surprise," Bailey's lips turned upwards for a second before becoming serious once again. "The only way you can take off a bracelet is if you die or are in serious pain..." Myka's eyes widened, realizing what that meant for Bailey. "He was attacking me. Okay, fine. But then he went after my family. The people I love… I think the white bracelet sensed how badly I wanted to protect them and infused itself into me. With the power I went off, and came here." Bailey waved her arms in front of herself to represent the here and now.

Myka nodded, still taking in the girl's story. "Okay. But why come back here? What's so special about now?"

Bailey rubbed her eye, "Myka. When I went critical, the bracelet showed me the past of everyone in the room. All their worst moments. Everything that could possibly be fixed or redone or healed."

Myka shook her head and laughed at the absurdity, "What has to be fixed on Thanksgiving Day of 2010? Come to redo my turkey?"

Bailey smiled sadly. "It's not exact. If it were, I probably would have come back about two months ago. Almost three now."

Myka's silly smile faded as she understood what Bailey was saying. "What do you mean?" she asked in disbelief.

"The day you left them Myka," Bailey said softly. "It was the worst day for most of them."

Myka's wide eyes turned furious, "So, what? It's my fault that you got attacked in the future? Are you trying to blackmail me with guilt? 'Go back and I won't have been hurt. I won't die!'"

Bailey stared in shock at Myka's outburst, not realizing she would figure out Bailey's condition so quickly. She shook her head but stopped when stars erupted in her vision. "No. I'm saying when you left, you broke the hearts of the team. All of them; Artie, Claudia, Leena… Pete. Broken hearts are nearly impossible to mend completely. Something easy for an artifact to exploit."

"So it was my fault," her anger all but gone. She sunk down onto a box across from Bailey in defeat.

"No. I'm not saying that," Bailey forced herself to stand and make her way toward the broken agent. "I'm saying this stupid artifact thinks you're supposed to be with everyone else in the future. Maybe not now, maybe not ever, but that's why I was sent here. Because of this," she held out her marked wrist and Myka stared at it.

"What am I supposed to do?" Myka asked with tears in her eyes.

"Do what you want. Think about what you're missing at the warehouse. Think about your life protecting the President… Ask yourself if it's worth it. Even if you don't trust yourself, you need to trust them. Trust your teammates to have good judgment. They've never steered you wrong have they?"

Myka began to smile but Bailey cut her off, "No, don't answer that." Bailey smiled, "I've heard stories… But still, you've all come out okay. Nothing lasts forever but it's not fair to yourself or the others if you cut it short on purpose. Because you're scared."

Myka looked away in shame. Bailey sighed and then sunk down onto the floor with her back next to Myka's legs. Neither talked for a few minutes.

Finally, Myka spoke, "But you don't even know if talking to me now has or will change anything. If I go back, who's to say you still won't be attacked and sent back here? You haven't left yet, don't you think you would have disappeared by now if everything was how it should be according to your artifact?"

Bailey breathed in the dusty yet homey smell of the room and smiled. "There is no way to tell what will happen. I might still get attacked. Probably will… But if you went back, if you stay with your friends… Eventually you'd be there to stop Pete from putting on the black bracelet."

Myka froze. To say she was stunned would be an understatement. She was gob smacked. She shook her head slightly and finally regained her speech, "wait, are you saying… Bailey, you're saying Pete did whatever it was that brought you here?"

Bailey inhaled deeply in response. Myka slid herself off the box and kneeled in front of the young woman. Myka placed her hand on Bailey's arm in an attempt to grab her attention. "Bailey…" she trailed off softly, wanting desperately for the girl to answer.

Myka couldn't – wouldn't – believe it. Pete wasn't like that. Sure sometimes he fooled around with random objects and sometimes they turned out to be artifacts. But he wouldn't intentionally use an artifact. Not unless he needed to save someone's life. And even then, he would be weary. But if Bailey was right about this bracelet only hurting people and Pete knew what it did… Then he would _never_ use it.

"You're lying," Myka said quietly, challenging the girl in front of her. "Pete would never intentionally hurt someone else. He even hates his gun, he always wants the Tesla."

Bailey finally gazed into Myka's wide and angry eyes. "Maybe not now but things change. You don't know him the way I do."

"You're wrong. People don't change that much, especially not Pete."

Bailey stared into Myka's fierce gaze. It was filled to the brim with unwavering loyalty and trust and nearly spilling over with love. Myka was right and that's the way things should be. Pete was tough and goofy on the outside but a tender romantic inside; the type who always put someone else first.

But unfortunately, Bailey knew better. Since she was a kid, she was spoiled with fantastical stories of ordinary objects having extraordinary powers. It wasn't until she was in possession of the white bracelet that she realized they were probably true. A few weeks before the attack, she convinced her father to tell her all the dangerous parts they used keep out when she was younger. He also told her about the heartbreaking parts… Bailey always knew Pete to be happy and fun. It wasn't until he showed up at her dorm and 'gave' her the white bracelet that she realized he had a darker side.

And it wasn't until Bailey found herself in 2010 that she realized why Pete changed the way he did. He lost his anchor.

Bailey knew everything the moment he put the bracelet on. She knew he wouldn't be able to resist the unimaginable powers of the two bracelets together.

She knew who attacked her. She didn't know why Claudia couldn't see his face when she peeked in on the memory but Bailey would never forget his ferocious expression.

"All it takes is one thing. One small moment or misjudgment that gets blown out of proportion and everything, everyone is affected. For better or worse," Bailey said slowly and clearly, hoping Myka saw in between the lines.

Myka's eyes watered when she saw the truth in Bailey's eyes. The memories. But there was something else. Bailey wasn't just talking about Pete. _One misjudgment_ _blown out of proportion_ - _like trusting H.G_., Myka realized shamefully. She turned away as a tear streamed down her face.

"Pete wouldn't – I couldn't –" Myka cut off shaking her head. Too many views were running around in her head. More tears fell from her eyes as she attempted to organize her thoughts. But only one sentence formed itself in her crowed head. "I can't go back," she whispered to the ground.

Bailey swallowed back her tears. She'd never seen Myka before today but in her imagination and from the stories, she was strong and independent, someone you didn't want to mess with. But right now, she was the epitome of weak and desperate, on the ground with tears following from her eyes, and it nearly broke Bailey's resolve. Bailey's breath hitched involuntarily as a pain cut through her chest. Once her breathing evened out, Bailey asked softly, "Why not?"

Myka didn't answer right away. She stared at Bailey's face, as if waiting for the answer to show up in black ink across the girl's forehead. But instead Bailey closed her eyes and stuck her arm out to the ground to stop herself from swaying when she suddenly became dizzy.

Myka snapped out of her reverie to grab Bailey's shoulder more securely, sensing her discomfort. "You need to rest. You're not well."

Bailey smirked and leaned her head back against the box. Once she felt stable enough to open her eyes, she exhaled a tired breath. "They love you," she said, refusing to let Myka change the subject.

Myka rapidly found the side of the box very interesting. Bailey pushed onward anyway, "They miss you. Things aren't right without you around. And you know that. You know that because you feel the same way. You need them as much as they need you. You're a team." She paused to let her words sink in and to take a few stabilizing breaths. Myka finally glanced back to Bailey. She swallowed at Myka's saddened expression but was determined not to show any second thoughts.

"Now start acting like it," Bailey finally said with a little more anger and force than she felt.

The two stared at each other for a few moments. Myka finally let a tiny smile cross her face before she slumped down next to Bailey. They sat in similar positions, experienced agent and novice time traveler, backs against the box full of aged books. Neither knew too much about the other but the silence that fell between them was comfortable. Suddenly, through the quiet tears spilling down Myka's cheeks, she began laughing softly. Bailey frowned at the older woman in surprise but eventually smiled along with her, glad to see her happy, even if she had no idea what brought on the agent's glee.

With a smile still curling her lips, Myka explained, "Sorry, it's just…" she waved her hand in a circle weakly, "I think Claudia said it to me once. Something about 'once you go warehouse, you can never go back.'"

Bailey stared at Myka for a few seconds before chuckling. "Sounds like her."

Another minute passed before Myka spoke softly, "Who are you?"

Myka doubted she would get an answer and Bailey proved her right by keeping her focus in front of her and her mouth shut. Myka watched as Bailey slowly stood, taking note that it took a lot more time and energy than it should have for a twenty-something year old to get up.

Once Bailey was on her feet, she turned back around toward Myka. "We have to go," she nodded in the direction of the door, "Are you coming?"

Myka turned her head away but otherwise didn't move. She still didn't know what to do. Well, she knew what she wanted to do; curl up in bed and never come out – never have to make a decision. But that wasn't possible and she was Myka Bering, she didn't do that. Not anymore.

To go back to the life she had two years ago would be the easy choice. Go back to protecting the President on the weekdays and having a small social life on the weekends. But even then, Myka thought as she rubbed her forehead, she couldn't trust herself. She didn't trust herself to take charge of her agents and keep the President safe.

But at the warehouse with Claudia and Artie, Leena and Pete… at least there she could trust them to make the right choices. To do the right thing.

Myka grimaced, even if doing the right thing was sending her back to work in Washington, D.C.

"I can't just go back, it's not that easy," Myka said with regret.

"Like hell it isn't," a voice from the doorway echoed into the old room. Myka and Bailey snapped their heads around to look at Claudia. She had her arms crossed defiantly and was leaning casually against the open door.

"Claudia, what…" Bailey asked, startled. Myka took note of it, apparently Claudia really wasn't expected.

"You guys were taking too long," the redhead said nonchalantly, "you should know me by now, staying in one place – almost completely in the dark about what's going on by the way – isn't going to last long." She pushed off of the door as she uncrossed her arms and took a few steps closer, "don't worry, I didn't hear anything really. Just heard that last little bit. Which brings me to the beginning," she stopped near Bailey and stared down at Myka, "why can't you just go back? What's keeping you away?"

Myka sighed tiredly and moved to stand. Finally eye to eye with the other two girls, Myka spoke, "I just started my job in D.C. again."

"Mrs. F will take care of it," Claudia countered without hesitation. "Next?"

Myka hesitated and knew Claudia was absolutely right. She shifted her weight to her other foot uncomfortably, "Claudia…"

"No Myka," Claudia cut her off and crossed her arms again, portraying her young attitude quite well, "tell me what's really keeping you here. I want to know so when I go back to the warehouse I can explain to Artie and Pete why you wanted to come back but never did."

Myka stared at the redhead. She would have smiled in pride at how grown up she had become since they first met, if it weren't for the overwhelming feeling of dread creeping into her heart. She inhaled and drew herself up to her fullest height, wholly intent on telling Claudia it isn't something she can fix. But a quick glance at Bailey – who looked unnaturally pale – brought their earlier chat to the forefront of her mind. She exhaled and her shoulders slumped before she spoke in a worn voice, "I don't trust myself. I _can't_ trust myself, not after… I can't keep you guys safe when we go out on an artifact hunt. I can't trust my judgment. I'll just keep second guessing myself. I'm no use to the warehouse anymore."

Claudia had slowly uncrossed her arms during Myka's confession. She had never seen Myka this heartbroken and it hurt _her_ to even think about it. Cursing herself for not having better social skills or at least more experience, Claudia said the first thing that popped into her mind, "You aren't responsible for what happens to us."

Myka frowned but Claudia cut off any response, "We all know what we're getting in to every time we walk into the warehouse, or even wake up in Univille, South Dakota, for that matter. You aren't solely responsible for what happens and you're not expected to be either. You can't be. That would just be unfair."

The corners of Myka's lips turned upwards and Claudia grinned. "Yeah," Myka agreed halfheartedly.

"As for the trust thing," Claudia reached out to Myka's shoulder and turned serious, "if you can't trust yourself… Trust _us_. At least until you can trust yourself again."

Myka was transfixed by the seriousness and honestly in Claudia's eyes. Not for the first time since Claudia walked through her father's store a little over an hour ago, Myka thought what she had missed in the past three months that caused Claudia to grow up even more.

"When did you become the adult?" Myka asked half serious, half jokingly.

Claudia smiled but answered with a solemn glint in her eye, "Since the other one left."

Myka straightened her lips and swallowed. "I'm sorry."

Claudia nodded her acceptance. A comfortable moment passed before Claudia gave in on her urge and hugged Myka tightly. The older woman was surprised but quickly reciprocated the passion in the hug.

"For whatever it's worth, I missed you," Claudia muttered into her sister's shoulder.

Myka chuckled with a huge grin, "It's worth a lot."

The two finally ended the hug, both smiling equally as big and eyes watering. "I missed you too," Myka said.

Finally the moment passed and Claudia asked rather hesitantly, "So, um, what now?"

Myka tucked her hands in her back pockets and looked to the ground to give her another minute to think. Though she really didn't need it. She knew what she was going to do. It wasn't the easy choice. But the easy choice usually wasn't the right one.

She held her head up with a smile on her face and Claudia instantly beamed. "You better call Artie and let him know where you are so he doesn't freak."

Claudia's smile faded as her eyes widened, "Ah crap. You think you could vouch for me? Dunno if I could handle anymore inventory right now. Being stuck in the B&B for so long kinda-"

Claudia cut off and whirled around to look for Bailey, the B&B reminding her of her sick friend. Bailey was sitting heavily on the floor with her back against a box. Her head was angled backwards and her eyes were closed.

"Bailey?" Claudia called anxiously. Myka also looked over and saw the girl's labored breathing.

The two moved closer and kneeled down. Claudia reached out to Bailey's shoulder. "Bailey, how are you feeling?"

Bailey cracked her eyes open and smirked, "You guys all done, then?"

Claudia smiled and exchanged a relieved glance with Myka. Bailey looked sick but at least she was awake and lucid. Myka nodded to Bailey's question, "Yeah, I think so."

Claudia looked expectantly at Myka. Almost one hundred percent sure what she was going to say but doubt always remained constant.

"So?" Bailey said, prompting the answer to the huge question that still hung in the air. "I don't know about you guys but I'm craving turkey."

Claudia quirked her lips, "me too." She turned toward Myka, "where are we going to eat though?"

Myka thrived on the anticipation oozing from Claudia and finally spoke evenly, "I'll go ask mom and dad to get us some turkey."

Claudia's face fell and she tore her suddenly wet gaze away from the older woman. Bailey kept her face the same, watching the interactions between the two.

"Come on," Myka helped Bailey to shaky feet and then held her hand out to help Claudia up. Claudia just stared at it in confusion for a few seconds. "Are you coming or not?" Myka said in a surprisingly calm voice despite the grin pulling at her lips. "It's a long drive, I don't think any of us could go that long without food, do you?"

Claudia closed her eyes, embarrassed that she thought Myka was going to stay. Then she laughed and bounced up to her feet. "Let's go before Artie grounds me for the rest of my life."

Myka also laughed and wrapped her arm in Claudia's, "Don't worry. I've got your back."

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**...of what I have written. Hope you liked it. I was considering leaving it here but the urge to write Pete and Artie's reactions to Myka's homecoming was too strong. But since I haven't even started on that chapter, who knows when it'll be updated. Hopefully not too long though. **

**Until then, review please?  
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	9. What We Missed

**Sorry for the wait guys. I could go into a long, boring explanation but I'll save you and me the time and just say this: it's my busiest semester ever. **

**Anyway, slightly shorter chapter but important. And don't be confused by the first paragraph/beginning, it'll make sense soon. Hope you like it. **

**O yeah, there's new page breaks or whatever they're called. No more line, it's just an ellipsis (...) now. Enjoy. :)  
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**She was tired; physically and mentally exhausted. She hadn't gotten much sleep in the past few days. Nerves were too on edge to allow her a few simple but much needed hours of rest. She was also guilt ridden. Frightened they would come after her. Terrified they would let her go. Remorse filled her every pore. She didn't know what to feel. But she knew what she had to do. She made her choice, now it was just a matter of sticking to it. Part of her knew she was doing the right thing. The other part was screaming for her to stop. Everything was falling apart – no it was torn apart at the seams. And it was her fault.

Tears blurred her vision but she refused to let them fall, to show any second thoughts – even with no one around to see them. She hesitated at the door of her car. Taking one last look at the rusted metal that protected her once happiest place. A voice somewhere in the darker corner of her mind whispered softly, _they aren't stopping you_. She climbed into the car and without looking back, sped off in the dusk. Her blurred vision finally cleared somewhat as tears streamed down her face. Instantly, she felt horrible. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how many deep breaths she took, Myka couldn't stop the sobs from escaping. She felt awful for leaving her family. But the damage was done. And it was done by her. She couldn't go back, it was too late now. So Myka did the only thing she could care to think of, she gripped the steering wheel tighter and pointed the car toward Colorado.

It wasn't long before He came. Part of her wondered if he drove the whole way – he wasn't at the airport to stop her. But later that night he showed up. Myka thought she should have been touched, but for some reason she felt just the opposite. Almost annoyed that he came.

It was too soon, she'd decided after weeks of thought. Like after a breakup, there needed to be time to cry and be miserable before the healing could begin. He was too early – trying to talk sense into someone who didn't want to hear it.

Myka wasn't at the bookstore when he showed up. He panicked for a few minutes before her parents took pity on him and informed him she was just out on a walk – to get some air, she'd said. They weren't sure when she would be back.

So he waited.

It wasn't until after midnight that she showed up. Her normally over observant eyes cast to the night sky – lost in a world of her own. He let her get all the way to the door – even unlock it – before he scrounged up the courage to announce his presence.

She froze, eyes watching his reflection in the glass door. He looked so sad and hesitant. Two things that didn't belong on Pete Lattimer's face.

"Myka…" Pete trailed off. Even after the hours of preparation for this moment, he was still lost. Still unsure of what to say. The only response Myka gave was remaining still. Her back to Pete's face, her eyes watching his every hesitant move.

"Myka, can you – can we talk?" He put his hands in his pockets to attempt some sense of normalcy.

Myka didn't reply for a few moments. Eventually, she turned around and just stared at Pete. They locked gazes and each uncharacteristically lost their voices. After a few unnerving seconds, Pete tore his gaze away as he attempted to form a coherent sentence. But unfortunately, nothing came out.

Released from his powerful gaze, Myka's mind was able to fully register his presence and words came quick to her mouth. "What are you doing here?" she whispered with the utmost sincerity behind her confusion.

Pete stared at her in disbelief. The edges of his mouth curving as if she just asked the stupidest question in the world, and to him that was probably true. "Isn't it obvious?"

Myka crossed her arms but refused to answer.

The saddened expression returned to Pete's face and Myka's stomach tightened uncomfortably. "I came to get you. To give you a ride back to the warehouse." Myka opened her mouth but Pete cut across her, "and don't tell me you don't want to come back."

"Pete…" Myka's voice was rough as if she had been crying uncontrollably for hours. "I don't."

Pete went tense, his usual playful attitude all but gone. "Don't say that," he said shortly.

Myka stared at Pete for a few moments but had to turn away from his haunting gaze. "It's true."

"No it's not," Pete took Myka's wayward look as regret and it made his heart lighten. "I know you, Myka. You wouldn't just give up on all of us."

Myka met his gaze once again and Pete's heart fell to his stomach. It wasn't regret Myka was feeling. It was guilt and distrust. Pete felt the urge to grab Myka and hug her until their limbs melded together but for some reason, he found himself rooted to the spot.

Pete suddenly laughed shortly and slightly hysterically, Myka didn't miss the hurt resounding beneath it. "Why? Why won't you go back?"

Pete's laughter did anything but cheer her. In fact, she realized she only grew frustrated that he thought she was crazy. "You know why," she stated tersely. She really didn't want to rehash the whole story once again. It had plagued her ever since she woke up in Egypt after H.G. shot the two of them with her Tesla.

Pete grew serious once again. "You made a mistake. You can't blame yourself for that. It could have happened to any of us."

"But it didn't. It happened to me," Myka internally winced at the words. The same she used to justify her leaving to Mrs. Frederic.

Pete took a small step toward Myka, "Only because H.G. manipulated you. She singled you out and took advantage of your compassion."

"She played me," Myka said with honest distaste.

"She played all of us," Pete reasoned. "Stop blaming yourself. None of us could have known she was going to pull a Benedict Arnold on us."

Myka shook her head and kept her hard gaze on Pete. "It doesn't matter now. It should never have come to that. I can't go back and I won't."

Pete met her gaze for a few moments, his whole face illuminating his sorrow. "Myka…" he pleaded.

"No, Pete!" Myka cried loudly and firmly, startling Pete into silence. She took a step back from him and grabbed the doorknob behind her. Then in a calmer but still firm voice, she continued, "Just- just leave Pete. Leave me alone. I can't do this – not now," she finished with a pained whisper and turned quickly to escape through the unlocked door.

To her surprise, Pete didn't stop her. Didn't even move, really. Just watched as Myka ran from their conversation. Closing and locking the door behind her, Myka didn't even glance at Pete when she disappeared into the darkness on the other side of the large windows.

Pete stayed where he was for a few minutes after Myka disappeared. A single thought formed in his head: he wasn't done yet.

...

Myka had no false hopes that Pete left Colorado the night before. In fact, she half expected him to be in the same spot she left him. So when he wasn't there, when he wasn't the first person through the store doors after they opened, and when he didn't show up the whole morning, Myka was albeit, worried. At the same time, she was relieved. She figured he was probably spending the time figuring out what to say. And as much as she hated the idea, she found herself thinking of what to say to counter him.

She couldn't go back. That she knew. She just had to make Pete understand. She put the world in danger. Even worse, she put everyone she loved in danger. Pete, Artie, Claudia, Leena, her parents… They would have all died within minutes of the Trident being used to its full potential. That was the worst part. That was the real reason why she put H.G.'s gun to her head. She couldn't handle the knowledge that she was responsible for everyone's death. She'd die before that happened.

That's why she left. She was protecting them. From her. From her stupid mistakes and misjudgments. She thought she could do it. Go out and collect an artifact that could potentially ruin the world's day and be home by supper. But it was just another fantasy.

It was mid-afternoon when the small bell above the door chimed. Myka closed her book reluctantly, although she couldn't really distract herself enough to absorb the words on the old pages. Myka stood and straightened her shirt to make herself presentable for the costumer. Her dad would have done it if he was in but as he was not, Myka made her way toward the front of the store.

But she didn't get far; she stopped when she spotted Pete. He was standing just inside the door with the sun silhouetting his figure, hands in his pockets once again.

They stood at opposite ends of the shop staring at each other, waiting. Pete took the first move this time, taking a few steps toward a stoic Myka. "Um," he cleared his throat nervously, "so, take two. Right, Myka –"

"Pete, just-" as soon as she found her voice, she lost it.

Pete ignored his friend's brief interruption, choosing to continue with his monologue that he tried all morning to perfect – or at least get the gist of. "We've all made mistakes. Every single one of us. I should know, not knowing how to keep my hands to myself. Remember that telegraph? Made me hallucinate to the point where you were all in danger."

Myka closed her eyes to shield herself from Pete's troubled gaze. "Pete –"

Once again Pete ignored her. "And that day when everything that could go wrong in the warehouse did go wrong? You, me, and Claudia were all in deep with that duplicate B&B and the really freaky doll and the sticky string? And it wasn't really anyone's fault. Or… or when we were in New York for that fashion show. I convinced you to put yourself in danger. You almost died of old age, and that was my fault."

Myka swallowed back her tears, that day's feelings floating freshly in her memory. Old age, pain, confidence, hope. "That was Man Ray's fault," she said softly.

"And this is H.G.'s fault," Pete said just as soft.

Myka shook her head lightly, her firm tone returning, "This is different."

Pete took his hands out of his pockets in exasperation, "How?"

"The whole world could have ended, it almost did," she said for what felt like the hundredth time.

"That day…" Pete trailed off, thinking of Myka's weak frame lying helplessly in the hospital bed. _So did mine. _He cleared his throat and uttered softly, "I know… But you stopped her."

"She never would have been there if I hadn't trusted her."

"You're human, Myka," Pete nearly pleaded for her to understand. "You made a mistake. It happens and then we learn from it."

"I am." Pete's eyes widened sadly. "You should too Pete. Your mistake was trusting me. Learn from it."

"That's not what I meant," Pete said quickly, hiding his growing frustration.

"That's why I'm not going back Pete," Myka continued as if he never spoke.

Pete looked away for a few moments to collect his thoughts. And to rein in his emotions. An annoyed smirk made its way onto his face before he frowned, "H.G. really got into your head, didn't she? She's like a freaking Jedi man." Myka didn't offer a response – not that he was expecting much. He took a step toward the stressed woman. "If you want to get technical, it's really the Regents' fault for reinstating her as an agent. Or go back farther and blame MacPherson for de-bronzing her. Or, even better, blame the agents who bronzed her in the first place instead of just locking her up and waiting for her to kick it."

Myka's eyes widened slightly at the horrifying thought of Pete wanting someone to die; she unsuccessfully tried to stop him, "Pete, don't-"

"Don't what?" Pete almost yelled, his emotions finally coming out into the open. "Don't wish that H.G. was killed with her daughter a hundred years ago? Why not? If it saves us from everything that happened, including this conversation, then why the hell not?"

Everything from Egypt to her talks with Pete to Yellowstone Park flashed through Myka's mind. A sudden, terrible thought jumped out at her and she resented it as soon as she thought it. She took a step away from Pete and he instantly slumped, afraid she was scared of him.

"I'm sor-"

"Why didn't you say anything," Myka cut him off. His saddened face turned confused as he continued to stare open mouthed at Myka. "About your bad vibes," she clarified.

Pete looked down and sighed shallowly. He'd heard this already. A couple days ago in fact – before she left. "We already talked about this," he said, hinting that he didn't want to rehash the trust issue once again.

"You could have said something. Anything," Myka accused Pete. He opened his mouth to voice his ever increasing confusion but Myka continued over him, "From the very beginning, you knew she wasn't who she said she was. You knew and you never said anything. Not once," Myka reiterated with more fervor than she felt. More than she thought she could ever feel toward Pete. "If you had just said _something_ we would have believed you and none of this would have happened."

Pete closed his mouth as realization dawned on him. She was blaming _him. _ Something that he didn't think she would ever do. And yet, he had no way to counter that statement. She was right. He could have said something but then that would have betrayed Myka's trust. But since he kept his mouth shut, everything blew up in his face. Now Myka couldn't trust herself. It was a lose-lose situation that he couldn't find a way out of.

Myka hated it. Every word that came out of her mouth. Every emotion that flashed in Pete's eyes, over his face. It was mean, condescending, and an outright low blow. She was blaming _him._ She loathed it. But it was the only way for him to realize they messed up. They couldn't work together anymore. And she needed him to leave. To go away so she could be alone. Part of her ached for human comfort in the shape of her partner – former partner – but the larger part of her refused to get close to anyone. Not for her sake but for theirs. She needed to be alone to protect others. Myka steeled her face, hiding her true feelings behind a mask of placidness. She was protecting them from her stupid, life-threatening mistakes, that's all there was too it. One day they'd realize she was right in leaving.

Now she just needed to get Pete back to where he belonged, back to the warehouse. She ignored his wounded expression and paused only to reach into the darkest section of her soul, summoning the courage to speak her next words. "You could have stopped this. All of it."

"You're right," Pete's shameful admittance nearly broke Myka's facade. He was heartbroken, finally giving up what little hope he had to bring Myka home he had when he arrived.

Myka inhaled and stared at Pete. It hurt both of them, but he'd survive. He'd move past this and be better for it. It was the only way. "Go back, Pete." She said very clearly and very painfully, for them both. "It's obvious we don't- can't work well together anymore."

Pete's face screwed up in an attempt to keep himself together. "Because we trust each other too much?" he practically scoffed, doing everything he could to keep his tears from falling.

"Because we can't tell the other when they are wrong," Myka confessed.

"You're wrong now," Pete said firmly. "You're making another big mistake."

"It's too late, Pete," Myka carefully hid her guilt.

"You really feel that way?" Pete asked but dreaded the answer. Even then, he stepped closer and grabbed Myka's upper arms loosely. "Look me in the eye and tell me you don't want to come back."

Myka hardened herself and stared Pete in the eye. Taking a few moments to make sure her voice didn't crack, she finally answered Pete. "I don't."

She felt his hands reflexively tighten, as if he didn't want to let her get away. At their closeness, Pete couldn't hide his red eyes. "You're just going to give up the past two years just like that? All of our time together, saving the day, having fun, being with your best friends?"

Myka swallowed and hoped Pete couldn't see the pain in her eyes. "Yes," she whispered.

Pete did notice her hesitance; he shook his head but didn't release her arms, "Myka…"

"Pete," Myka regained the volume to her voice as she backed out of his strong arms. He kept his arms up as if waiting for her to come back into his embrace. To Pete's despair, Myka only backed away farther. "I'm not going back."

Pete dropped his arms limply to his sides. Every inclination of Myka returning to his arms was lost. He was numbly aware of his head nodding his understanding. But he didn't understand. He couldn't believe it. It hurt to even think of going back to the warehouse without his partner, without his friend.

"So that's that? Pete asked, more to keep away the awkward silence than to hear her answer. His voice rough, his tone one of disbelief and it finally shattered both of their already damaged hearts.

...

Bailey woke as the car bumped on a pothole. Wincing at the bright sunlight, she slowly turned her head toward the front of the car. Instinctively, she looked in the rear-view mirror. Myka took that moment to glance back and the two made eye contact. Somehow, someway, the two of them knew just what the other was thinking. "I'm sorry." Sorry for experiencing it. Sorry for intruding.

Myka tore her gaze away and back to the road. Bailey switched her stare to the back of Claudia's head resting peacefully against the window and shoulders rising evenly. She was asleep. Refusing to submit to the awkward silence bubbling between her and Myka, Bailey turned her gaze and attention toward the passing landscape. Green grass was fading fast as they neared a city; the trees cutting the sun's rays grew fewer and fewer to be finally replaced by large buildings. Buildings that – even twenty years earlier – looked familiar. They had just entered Rapid City.

Myka ran a hand through her hair reflexively before nudging Claudia's shoulder. "Hey sleepyhead, wake up."

Claudia mumbled something unintelligible and stretched as much as possible in her car. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she looked out the windows and asked, "Rapid City?"

Myka smiled and nodded. "Rapid City," she confirmed.

"Rapid City," Bailey muttered faintly from the back seat with an air of nostalgia. Claudia watched in the side mirror as Bailey watched her home fly by.

Turning in her seat, Claudia asked to no one in particular, "You think if we make a pit stop here, we'll run into baby Bailey?"

Myka smiled and glanced in the mirror to watch Bailey also grin. "Too early," Bailey replied, keeping her eyes on the few people walking through the city. She smiled as she watched a tall, young man reach out and grab the hand of the woman he was walking and talking with. They looked happy to just be together and Bailey's heart clenched unexpectedly. She swallowed shallowly as a wave of homesickness and longing washed over her. Hoping the others didn't see her sudden emotional turmoil, she raised her head and said contently, "Besides, my parents only just met."

Myka slowed as she drove through the city. It was the most direct way – not normally the fastest considering the busy city life, but she figured since it was Thanksgiving, there would be less people out and about. She was right, only a few groups or couples were roaming around just for the fun of it since most stores were closed.

She slowed and stopped at a red light. Claudia suddenly gasped audibly. Having been looking out her side window, Myka jumped slightly and whipped her head around to stare at the back of Claudia's head. "What?" she asked, eyes wide and alert.

Claudia just shook her head. "No freaking way," she said slowly.

"What?" Myka asked again, looking calmly everywhere in the same direction Claudia was facing, trying to find what had fascinated her. The red head didn't sound frightened, so at least that was a good sign. Glancing back at Bailey, Myka saw her eyes weren't wandering around either – she knew what Claudia was staring at – and Myka couldn't help but notice the lack of emotion of Bailey's face. She made a mental note to ask about it later and then looked back out Claudia's window to search again. The only things she saw were a few closed shops and a cute couple, the man with his arm around the woman's shoulders. They both had dark brown hair and looked around mid-twenties.

Myka's mouth gaped when she realized why Claudia was staring. "No freaking way," she echoed Claudia in a whisper.

Claudia stuck her head out her window and yelled for all she was worth.

"JOSHUA!"

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**Sorry for any misspellings. Seems this and Word don't like to agree on simple things like that. **

**Like it? Hate it? Let me know.  
**


	10. Together

**...yeah.. sorry about the wait. Hope this is good. I'm kinda freaking out about it. **

**Last chapter basically described what happened when Pete went after Myka unsuccessfully. The chapter ended with Claudia, Bailey, and Myka spotting Joshua in Rapid City, SD.**

**Hope you like this. There's only one more after this one.**

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The tall brunette spun around at the sound of his name. He resembled a deer in the headlights but his gapping mouth turned into a large smile when he located the source of the call. A head full of red hair and excited young woman was sticking out of the window of a green El Camino. She was calling for him again, this time waving her arm to get his attention.

The car moved as the light changed from red to green, but it didn't go far, just enough to find a place to park along the street. Before the car came to a complete stop, the passenger door was flung open and the red head was bounding her way toward her big brother. Laughing out loud, the two siblings found themselves wrapped around each other in a tight embrace.

"What are you doing here?" Joshua asked his little sister breathlessly as they continued to hold tightly to one another.

Claudia finally pulled away from her brother but remained close, not ready to leave his presence just yet. "What am I doing here?" she asked with a confused smile. "I'm not the one in the wrong country, mister," she poked her brother's chest lightly.

Joshua laughed a little at that and held out his arms, "Surprise!"

They chuckled together as he wrapped an arm around Claudia's shoulders. Claudia took advantage of the closeness to lean her head against his chest, relishing in the few and far between moments when she was able to enjoy her brother's company.

Myka took that moment to walk up; she had hesitated near the car to give the siblings their much needed moment. But she couldn't stay away for long – Claudia already hunted her down once, she'd do it again in a heartbeat and probably drag her brother along with her. Myka smiled at the two's affection for each other. Even after all their time spent apart, they could fall back into rhythm within seconds.

"It's good to see you, Joshua," Myka said with a hint of hesitance.

Joshua looked up and his smile faltered only just. "Myka…" he was surprised. He knew Myka had left – Claudia called him crying only a few hours after Mrs. Frederic read her letter. Joshua internally cringed at the memory; it was the first time he experienced that side of Claudia. He was glad she had someone to talk to but he hoped she would never have to go through that level of pain again. But he wasn't one to dwell, maybe being trapped for twelve years in an inter-dimensional space taught him that. His smile returned.

"It's great to see you too," he replied earnestly.

Myka smiled as well, glad Joshua wasn't making her return awkward. It gave her hope – if only the tiniest bit – that her reunion with the others would go as well.

But until then, Myka turned her attention to the girl standing near Joshua, quietly and politely watching the others get reacquainted.

"Hello, I'm Myka," she held out her hand and gave her a warm smile.

The girl reciprocated the smile and shook Myka's hand. "Nice to meet you, I'm Jennifer."

Joshua finally released his sister and instead adopted his caring position with Jennifer. "Ah, sorry," he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "Guys, meet Jennifer. My girlfriend."

Myka's smile grew knowingly but Claudia's eyes bulged. She reached out to smack Joshua on the arm. "Girlfriend? Since when?" She tried to sound annoyed that he kept this secret from her, but she couldn't stop the joyful grin that spread across her face.

Joshua recoiled slightly at the hit and Jennifer offered an answer with a happy smile, "Since we ended up on the same flight from CERN and then got stuck at the airport for days because of that freak snow storm."

Joshua squeezed his girlfriend's shoulder slightly and expanded on the story, "We both work at CERN but in different departments so we didn't really know each other. But we ended up sitting next to each other for the flight. We were both coming back for Thanksgiving – Jen's parent's live here - but the snow storm blocked off everything. Eventually we ended up talking and…" he turned toward Jen and grinned, "The rest is history."

"That's really cool," Claudia confessed with a smile.

"Good for you," Myka said to the couple.

"Congrats," a soft voice spoke from behind Myka and Claudia.

"Bailey!" Claudia yelped, startled as she turned around. No one had noticed she'd left the car. "Bailey," she said in a calmer tone, finally taking in her friend's appearance. The excitement and delight at seeing her brother dulled a bit when she looked at Bailey's face. She was definitely getting steadily worse, the color she had regained over the past few days was diminishing and she looked extremely warm despite the cold temperature. Putting her fears aside for the briefest of moments, Claudia turned back to her brother who wore a puzzled expression.

"Bailey, this is my brother Joshua and his girlfriend, Jennifer," she gestured to each and a thought occurred to her - that Bailey already knew them. But if she did, she gave no indication of it.

"Nice to meet you two," Bailey said politely.

"And this is my friend Bailey," Claudia informed the couple. Joshua smiled and nodded, carefully taking in Bailey's unsettling appearance.

Jen's eyes lit up, "Bailey?"

The girl in question nodded. Jen chuckled, "That's so freaky. That's actually my last name." She turned toward Joshua and gripped his arm lightly, smiling at the coincidence.

Myka and Claudia watched the exchange with interest. Once again Bailey's expression was unreadable. She certainly didn't look as interested as Jen was. Maybe she just didn't care as much.

"Yeah, that is weird." Bailey's mouth quirked upwards but it quickly disappeared when her head began throbbing in pain. She reflexively clutched at her head to try and dissipate the pain but it was unrelenting. Her vision began to swim and she forced her eyes closed before it could cause her to feel nauseous.

The entire group reacted similarly; all smiles disappeared to be replaced with worry. Joshua was the one to ask, "Are you okay?"

A moment passed before Bailey relaxed some. She still had the headache but taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes. "I think I just need some rest," she said softly, weakly.

"We should probably get going anyway," Myka suggested, taking Bailey's obvious hint.

"Heading back to the B&B?" Joshua asked. Myka nodded. "Can we hitch a ride? We were actually about to rent a car to go there."

"Of course," Claudia answered easily, glancing from her brother to his girlfriend, silently welcoming her to come along as well.

The five of them packed into Claudia's car. Bailey sat shot gun to let Claudia sit in the back with her brother. Within minutes, they were on the road again.

And just minutes after that, Bailey had passed out – her head resting against the cool window. The heat from her body was already fogging up the side window.

"Is she okay?" Joshua asked his sister quietly once they knew for sure Bailey was out.

Claudia sighed and caught Myka's perceptive eyes in the rear view mirror. "She's sick," Claudia informed her brother. "She's not contagious," she added when she noticed Jennifer instinctively move away from Bailey.

"What kind of sick?" her brother asked frowning. "It's not the flu?"

Claudia shook her head and stared at Joshua. "Not the flu," she said carefully, staring at her brother, trying to mentally tell him it was an artifact. Her eyes flickered to Jennifer then back to her brother.

Joshua starred at his sister and his frown broke as he realized an artifact was responsible. Claudia couldn't say anything because Jennifer was there. "Right," he nodded.

Claudia also nodded; glad he picked up her signals quickly.

"So what is it?" Jennifer asked from the other side of Joshua. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing major," Myka put in from the front seat, using her experience to settle the nervous energy floating around the car, "just a cold that got out of hand. She should have been fine by now but decided to ignore her symptoms," she finished with a small shrug, downplaying the whole situation.

Jennifer seemed to accept this explanation as she nodded and then gave a sympathetic glance to the still sleeping Bailey. "Well, hope she feels better soon."

"Any day now," Myka confirmed.

"That's good to hear," Joshua gave a smile, putting an end to that part of the conversation. "So what have you been up to since I saw you last?"

"Umm," Claudia racked her brain. The last time she saw him she was at CERN trying to save him from MacPherson. Unfortunately, he ended up breaking his leg, Claudia winced at the memory and the fact that she wasn't able to help him recuperate. But since then, what happened? Too much. "Just the same old, same old, I guess. Finding strays," she smirked at her and Joshua's codeword for artifacts, "and saving the world every day," she shrugged.

"What is it you do?" Jennifer asked, intrigued by Claudia's life. Joshua had mentioned he had a sister but he didn't go into any specifics. Granted, they only really knew each other for a few days. "Do you work with animals or something?"

Claudia smirked, "Not really. I work at an IRS warehouse," she stated in a practiced tone. After the incident in Univille, she taught herself to refrain from cringing or hesitating when she mentioned she worked at the most hated building in America.

"Oh," Jennifer deflated somewhat. "That's interesting," she said in an overly obvious 'I'm lying' tone.

Claudia let her smirk become a grin. _If only you knew,_ she thought. "It's actually not bad. Get to work with tons of equipment I would never have the chance to anywhere else."

"Oh, really?" Jennifer's interest peaked once again, "like what?"

"Oh, just some computer stuff," Claudia dismissed with a wave of a hand. Jennifer raised an eyebrow. "Can't really go into details. Government and all," Claudia shrugged and Jennifer nodded disappointedly.

Jennifer leaned back into her seat, "Well, it sounds like you like it. That's good."

"Yeah, I love it," Claudia agreed, chancing a glance into the rear view mirror. Myka kept her gaze on the road and Claudia turned back to Joshua. "It's definitely unique," she winked and they shared a smile.

"Do you work there too, Myka?" Jennifer asked curiously. All at once, it was as if making a sound was suddenly illegal. Claudia held her breath as she starred at her brother's understanding and equally anxious eyes. Claudia concentrated on the constant engine noise to try and steady her rapidly beating heart. Myka took forever to answer, or that's what it felt like to Claudia.

Finally, Myka nodded slowly before voicing her thoughts, "Yes, yes I do."

Claudia felt like she should punch the air in success but the timidity and almost reluctance in which Myka answered made Claudia unsure. Yes, Myka said yes, but underneath it sounded like 'I don't know.' And that tiny hesitation caused turmoil in Claudia's mind. She released her breath quickly as she began searching the car for answers. She blinked rapidly, keeping the tears back.

_Tears? Why was she so emotional all of the sudden? Myka said 'yes.' She could have easily said no but she didn't. But what if she said yes just to give Jennifer an answer but didn't really mean it? Stop being stupid, she is in the car, driving to the B&B right now. She's going back. She's going back to stay._

"What about Bailey?" Jennifer asked, interrupting Claudia's thoughts.

"What about her?" Claudia asked, blinking.

"How did you guys meet?" Jennifer clarified. "You said you were friends right?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry," Claudia smiled shakily and closed her eyes. She abruptly realized how tired she was. Emotionally and physically drained. All the stress of the past few days was finally catching up to her and her eyes felt heavy. Faintly she thought she wouldn't be able to open her eyes again, not until she got some rest, at least.

"Bailey works at the hardware store in our town," she heard Myka answer for her. "They met and instantly became friends." Silently, mentally, Claudia thanked her sister for thinking of a cover story for her. She just couldn't think straight. Her thoughts felt hazy and scattered. She just wanted to relax, for everything to be done and over with.

Claudia reluctantly opened her eyes when she felt the car stop. They still had at least another half an hour to go. Why were they stopping now? She frowned when she noticed her home standing strong against the fading light of the day. She must have fallen asleep along the way, she realized.

If Jennifer didn't exit the car and then wait awkwardly outside for the others, Claudia was almost positive it would have been a long time before the El Camino was empty. But as it was, Joshua joined his girlfriend in the evening air and helped Bailey out of the front seat. Claudia hesitated a few moments, staring at the back of Myka's head. She had it bowed down, as if in prayer, and Claudia felt like she was invading. Finally Myka lifted her head and breathed out a long steady breath before opening her door.

The two joined the others and the group made their way to the front door. The walk felt extremely long to Claudia, like they were walking a mile through honey. Every step was a struggle to each of them. Joshua was leading them, one of his hands holding onto his girlfriends', and the other arm was wrapped around Bailey's shoulders, helping her stay steady. Bailey's head was resting lightly against Joshua, her steps slow yet calculated. Claudia and Myka were a few steps behind, Claudia's eyes shifting every few seconds to watch Myka, nervous for her yet thrilled to have her home.

Myka felt Claudia's gaze on her but kept looking ahead at the entrance to the B&B. Myka couldn't remember the last time she walked through the big door, sometime before the search for H.G. began, she thought. She knew they were waiting for her – Claudia's disappearance hadn't gone unnoticed and she received an earful from a distressed Artie when she finally contacted him. Claudia had to tell Artie what was going on, he wouldn't let her be until then, but he went uncommonly quiet when she mentioned Colorado. Myka's heart clenched when he told Claudia to hurry home in that usual gruff voice of his before he cut off the transmission. Neither Claudia nor she knew if that was a good thing, even if Claudia kept reassuring her it was.

They were only a step away from the door and Myka took a deep, albeit scared breath when Joshua turned the doorknob. It was unlocked; Myka wondered idly where Artie, Pete, and Leena would be when they entered.

Pausing at the threshold, Claudia turned toward Myka and gave her a warm smile. Myka let her lips curve upwards to tell the redhead know she appreciated it. Once they were through, a tsunami of emotions fell over Myka, starting with relief. The longing in her heart dissipated, she had missed this place dearly. From all of the elaborate furniture, to the tiny knick-knacks that covered all the corners of the rooms, she took a few moments to rememorize everything about the place. She was finally home. Suddenly, she desperately hoped the others would forgive her and allow her back into the happy family that dwelled here.

The group paused in the foyer, not quite sure where to go or what to do now. But they needn't worried, Leena made herself known quickly. The group separated from Myka as Leena hesitated slightly at the living room doorframe.

Myka's mouth dried up and she fought for words. Leena must have sensed it or read her aura because she gave a small but joyful smile and moved to hug Myka. Myka let her and they enveloped tightly, each smiling and closing their eyes – enjoying the moment while it lasted.

"It's great to have you back," Leena said warmly over Myka's shoulder.

She pulled away slowly and Myka quickly found out why. Artie was standing behind her, one foot in the foyer, the other remaining outside the room. Myka thought it odd, Artie was rarely this unsure, and when he was, he never showed it as plainly as he did then.

"Hi, Artie," Myka greeted as neutrally as possible, not sure he would respond greatly to any other tone. And truth be told, she was putting up walls, preparing herself for when Artie would kick her out for being so ungrateful.

Artie stayed where he was, eyes fixed on Myka's as if reading her innermost thoughts. Finally, he took a few steps forward. Everyone in the room exhaled a collective breath, so far, so good.

"Good to see you, Myka," he said politely but with enough emotion behind it to tell everyone he meant it. "How-how are you?"

"I'm…" she trailed off in thought. The reflexive response of 'I'm fine' died on her tongue. He deserved the truth and frankly, she was tired of lying to herself. "I've been better," she confessed with a heavy heart.

Artie nodded a tiny bit, knowing the same feelings. "Yeah, well…" Artie cleared his throat uncomfortably and glanced in Claudia's way. Apparently finding what he needed – a silent push from Claudia - Artie closed his eyes to stop himself from rolling them and smiled. "It's – uh – I'm glad you're back."

Myka felt her lips curve and she let out a relieved gasp, "Me too."

Silence fell over the group then. Everyone stayed rooted to their spots, as if any movement would shatter the dream.

Myka swallowed in an attempt to bring words to her mouth. "Is – is um…" Myka frowned, frustrated at her stumbling. Suddenly feeling like a scared teenager again. "Is Pete around?" She forced out, tearing her gaze from the older man to look around the small room.

She inhaled sharply in surprise when her gaze fell on the man she was looking for. He was standing at the top of the stairs, hands in his pockets and leaning against the wall. His head was bent but Myka could see his furrowed brow – a clear sign that he was troubled. Myka's insides twisted painfully when she realized she put that expression on his face, and those emotions in his heart.

"Pete," Myka addressed him, her voice sounding like someone ready to give a long winded apology. Pete gave no indication of hearing her and Myka sighed sadly.

She opened her mouth to try again but Pete beat her too it. "Coming back for good?"

Myka internally winced at the anger and hurt behind those four words. "Yes," she said strongly. "That is, if you want me back," she added, keeping her gaze on Pete but directing the question to the entire team – her family – as well. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Claudia nod vehemently, Leena smile and Artie shuffle his feet – which Myka knew to be his uncomfortable way of saying 'yes.'

Pete smiled but his eyes were full of pain and resentment. "Now we get a choice?"

All eyes turned to Pete at his barely contained rage. Pete shook his head in wounded disbelief. "You left, Myka. You left us with a note. We had no choice then, why ask us now?"

Myka felt her eyes sting at Pete's words. "I'm sorry," she said clearly, forcing her voice not to quiver.

"You're sorry," Pete repeated more to himself than anyone else. He pushed himself off the wall and slowly made his way down the stairs. "You know what the worst part is?"

Myka stood stock still, for the first time in her life, scared of Pete.

"Not minutes before you left," Pete was standing only a couple feet away from Myka now. The two stared at each other, one filled with regret, sorrow, guilt; the other with anger, pain, and distress. To them, everyone else might as well have been invisible.

"You convinced me to stay," Pete finished, the fury in his eyes falling to sorrow at the memory. "I was going to leave, to go find Kelly, but you stopped me. You said the warehouse needed me and I needed the warehouse," Pete's eyes narrowed in accusation once again, "You said all of that with your letter of resignation in your hands." Myka couldn't keep their connection anymore, she couldn't stare into Pete's reddening eyes, it hurt too much and she scolded herself for looking away. She deserved the pain; after all, she caused it. "Why?"

Myka closed her eyes to shield herself from the pain in Pete's voice, to stop that question from haunting her. Two tears broke through her well guarded walls and spilled down her cheeks. "I had to," Myka stopped to gain control of her cracking voice. She almost broke down completely when she met Pete's gaze. His anger was gone, replaced by heartbreaking misery.

"I had to protect you," Myka finally turned from Pete to look at the rest of her family, meeting Artie, Claudia, and Leena's eyes in turn. "I had to protect all of you." Barely noticing Joshua, Jennifer, and Bailey weren't in the room, Myka looked at the ground. "From me," she whispered. "I put all of you in danger and I'm sorry."

"Don't," Pete said shortly and Myka kept her gaze on the ground, afraid of what truths Pete was going to reveal now. "I don't want to hear it. I can't…" Pete sighed and Myka nodded numbly, silently.

"I hate that H.G. did was she did. I hate that you left. But you did what you thought was right. Both times and…" Pete paused and looked up as he tried to find the words he wanted to say. Myka glanced up and watched as words and emotions crossed Pete's face. When he looked back down a few moments later, their eyes met and Myka saw something she hadn't seen in months. Something she didn't know she missed but unconsciously yearned for. She saw love.

"Myka, what you did was probably the stupidest thing you've ever done." Myka looked away in shame. "But I can't stay mad at you for doing what you thought was right because I…" Myka looked up at Pete's hesitance. "I trust you too much." A small smile quirked his lips and Myka's heart skipped a beat. "So if it's anyone's fault I get hurt, it's me. I'm the one who chose to trust you. I didn't have to but I did and I still do. And hell, I liked H.G. too so you're not all to blame."

He shrugged sheepishly, "I mean, I was the one who kissed her, not you…unfortunately," he finished with a humorous smile on his face.

Myka just stared at Pete. Her sorrow and regret turning into confusion and she even found herself smiling along with him. But she suddenly realized he was apologizing to her. That wasn't how it was supposed to be.

"Pete…" Myka began but stopped when Pete grabbed her arms, not unlike the way he did three months ago. Except this time, she didn't back away.

"We all make mistakes," he said, his smile gone but his tone still light. "We are all responsible for those mistakes. But hey, last time I checked, we're pretty much a family." He smiled again and then straightened up to attempt a macho voice, "And you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us."

Myka couldn't help it. Maybe it was his genuine smile or the lights shining in his eyes again or the close comfort of his presence but whatever it was, she was glad to have a true reason to grin like the Cheshire cat and mean it.

Pete rubbed her arms lightly before letting go. Myka instantly missed the close contact. "Just promise me one thing," he said in all seriousness.

"Yeah?" Myka prompted timidly, her smile dimming a bit.

"Ask me first for advice next time you want to be friends with someone," he half joked.

Myka nodded and then added, "only if you promise to tell me the truth about them, even if I won't like it."

Pete didn't answer right away. Instead they took the time to look into the others' eyes and read their emotions and silently understand them. They were both sorry and more importantly, equally forgiven. It would be hard at first – both hesitant, maybe a couple of awkward pauses – but they were both resilient. They'd pull through. And be better for it.

Pete held out his hand, "Deal," he said with a smile.

Myka never took her gaze off Pete's sparkling eyes. "Deal," she shook his hand and their smiles shined brightly.

Myka wasn't sure who initiated it but she suddenly found herself enveloped in Pete's strong arms. Both smiled like there was no tomorrow. Over Pete's shoulder, Myka saw Claudia punch the air and grab Artie and Leena in a group hug. Myka started laughing and Pete reciprocated it.

It would be difficult, yes, but they would get through it. Together.

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**:)**

**Review?**


	11. Family

**Well, here it is. Thank you guys for reviewing and sticking with me throughout this story. Means a lot to me. This chapter is a little different but I think/hope it works.**

**Again, any and all mistakes are mine. Hopefully there won't be too many. **

**Anyway, enjoy. :)**

**Refresher: On the way back to the B&B, Myka, Claudia, and Bailey ran into Joshua and his girlfriend Jennifer. Upon entering the B&B, Joshua, Jennifer, and Bailey left the room to let Myka reconcile with the rest of the team. **

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In her twenty years of living, Bailey never thought it would happen. To be fair, she didn't think a lot of things would happen but what she'd been through in the past week – or was it two – was low on the list. Or really, it wasn't even on the list of things she thought possible. But as it turns out, there are mysterious artifacts in the world with strange powers. And it just so happened that she found the one that could send her back in time.

So here she was, in an era before she was born – before she was even thought about – sitting next to the two people she came to terms with never seeing again.

When Pete made his appearance at the top of the stairs, Joshua thought to give the family as much privacy as possible and silently led Bailey and Jennifer into the dining room. There they sat in uncomfortable and nervous silence, doing their best to ignore the pieces of conversation that floated into the room periodically.

An irresistible aroma made the feast set on the table impossible to miss, just waiting to be devoured by the whole team, or rather, family. There was a place setting missing – apparently Joshua kept Jennifer a secret even to Leena – but Bailey didn't care at the moment, nearly falling into the closest chair. Fatigue and the emotional strain of being in the wrong place – and wrong time - were weighing her down. Her entire body felt like it was covered in concrete, she didn't want to move or talk to anyone. She wasn't sure how long she'd be able to fight it.

If she was honest with herself, she wasn't sure how much longer she wanted to.

Joshua's soft, caring voice drifted into Bailey's senses and she reveled in his familiarity for a few moments before realizing he was trying to get her attention. Blinking, Bailey came out of her thoughts enough to hear Joshua ask if she was okay.

"I'm fine," Bailey mumbled but knew even a five year old would know she was lying. But at the moment, she didn't care. She felt worn-out ever since Colorado, a constant headache throbbed her brain, causing her grief at all waking times. Her unconscious moments were the only times she was unaware of the pain, but her dreams took up the slack – leaving her little with rest.

The fever she supposedly broke earlier had also returned full force to add to her discomfort. Bailey wasn't sure if anyone else knew that quite yet though and she was glad for it. There wasn't anything that could be done to help her anyway.

She could feel Joshua's eyes on her and knew he was aware of her lies but it was a nod to his character and trust in Claudia that he didn't ask her again. At least, not until Jennifer excused herself to seek out the bathroom.

"I know you're lying," he said quickly and quietly. "You're being affected by an artifact. How are you really feeling?"

Bailey closed her eyes and sighed wearily. She didn't want this. She didn't want to explain what was going on again. Especially not to him. "Listen, I appreciate it," she started once she met his concerned eyes. "I really do but there's nothing you can do to help." As much as she hated it, she couldn't keep the desperation out of her voice.

"I might be able to do something," he said. She should have known better; he wouldn't have been a Donovan if he gave up that easily. "I was stuck in an inter-dimensional field for twelve years. I think I know a thing or two about the affects of artifacts," he reasoned with an almost smug smirk.

"I know," Bailey mumbled. "Claudia mentioned it to me once," she lied easily to relax his suddenly puzzled face. Bailey didn't know what else to say after that and so stayed quiet, hoping pointlessly that he would drop it. But again, he was determined to find out what was wrong and what he could do to put a stop to it.

Bailey felt her eyes start to sting and had to look away. She couldn't tell him, she wouldn't tell him, but his compassion, his overwhelming concern for someone he didn't know was only making her feel worse. It was only making her miss her parents that much more. Her heart clenched at every word that exited his mouth and her emotions were waging a war inside her body. She didn't want the attention anymore; she just wanted to go home, to be home with her own family – in the right time – not twenty something years before.

A lonely tear betrayed her stoic expression and Joshua reacted instantly, replacing his queue of questions with just one, "What's wrong?"

He reached out to cover her hand in his own before Bailey could react. Heat ripped through them both and Joshua flinched back as if burned.

"I'm sorry," Bailey whispered through the renewed wave of pain. Another tear fell down her cheek as she turned to take in the confusion and worry in Joshua's gaze. "I'm just…" she numbly wiped at her wet cheeks and forced an embarrassed laugh, "I think I'm homesick."

To his credit, Joshua didn't question the strange heat from their connection, instead relaxing his features and asking, "Where's home?"

"Close," Bailey answered without really thinking, "but… far." Her own brow crinkled to match Joshua's at that peculiar reply.

But before either of them could mention it, Jennifer entered the room and immediately took notice of Bailey's badly covered tears. Coming to Bailey's side and kneeling to her eye level, Jennifer asked sympathetically, "Hey, what's wrong?"

Bailey shook her head lightly and a genuine chuckle escaped her lips. How was she supposed to answer that question? Things were too messed up to even attempt to conceive an answer. A piercing pain stabbed her in her forehead and she did all she could to stop herself from clutching at it. Instead more tears fell and Jennifer took it upon herself to comfort the younger woman with a hug.

"Geeze, Joshua, I leave for five minutes…" Jennifer reprimanded her boyfriend in a fake serious tone, "What did you say to the poor girl?"

Joshua gave Jennifer a smile but it turned into a thoughtful frown as he studied the sick girl sitting next to him, "I don't know."

Jennifer ended the hug with a reassuring pat on Bailey's back. Bailey wiped the remainder of her tears on her sleeve but refused to look at either of her comforters. "I'm just a little homesick," Bailey explained, "you know, with Thanksgiving and everything."

Without looking up, Bailey could see Jennifer nod understandably before asking, "Why aren't you at home? If you don't mind me asking."

Bailey met Joshua's eyes for a brief moment before inspecting the food in front of her again. So many answers crossed her mind: _It doesn't exist yet; the old married couple that live there now haven't retired yet; my parents only just met; there's no foreseeable way back to my time; technically, I am home._

"I don't know what would happen if I answered that honestly," Bailey said with a hint of resentment in her voice. Joshua's raised eyebrow and Jennifer's nervous glance at her boyfriend told Bailey that they heard the bitterness. Maybe they would just pass if off as exhaustion finally getting to her.

It didn't really matter to Bailey anymore. She was tired of the whole time traveling situation. Constantly worrying about saying too much or too little, reacting a certain way, or even being in the wrong spot was giving her a headache on top of the one she already had. As far as she was concerned, everything was either monumentally screwed up by now or everything would work itself out eventually. It was just a matter of time.

Bailey saw the shared glance between the two but a sound from the foyer caught her attention. Pete was exclaiming how hungry he was and how it was all the girls' fault that he had to wait for dinner.

"I think they made up," Bailey said quietly, to which Joshua and Jennifer turned their heads to in fact see the rest of the group enter the dinning room.

They all had contented and gleeful smiles on their faces, something Bailey was glad to see even if it did make her heart yearn even more for her own family. She sat silently as jokes and comments were thrown into the air and laughed at in a manner not unlike a few months ago, before the H.G. fiasco. The family's struggle to retain some sense of normalcy seemed to be off to a running start with only a little hesitance on Myka's side. Jennifer even found her comfortable position on the field so to speak and quickly acclimated to their unique motions.

The conversation quieted when Bailey finally stood, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. They all asked if she was okay without the use of words, their expressions were enough. Bailey appreciated their worry but decided once again, for their sake, to lie.

She was running out of time and she knew it. The pounding headaches and intense heat and pain running through her body wasn't for fun. She was dying. The artifact's power was burning her up from the inside and no one knew what to do because there wasn't anything to be done. Nothing except let it run its course.

But Bailey kept that to herself, like she kept her dizziness to herself as well as her blurry vision. She didn't mention the fact that she could barely see her friends and family through the cloud of white that invaded her sight. Nor did she mention that all the pain originated from her glowing wrist.

What she did do was give them a reassuring smile. She wasn't quite sure if it reached her eyes but she didn't think it would have made a difference either way. The rest of the group was concerned for her and no matter how much reassurance she gave them they would still worry for her sake. Because no matter what profession they found themselves in, they were all caring, loving people and Bailey was proud to be a part of the family. Even if she only got twenty years to enjoy it.

She frowned. Those last few thoughts were said out loud, or at least she thought so. It would explain hearing it through her ears as well as the expression changes on her family's faces. Eyes widened in shock and realization. Tears welled in some. Understanding but sorrow drew their faces down. Claudia called out to her, tried to reach her, but Bailey stopped her in her tracks with one relaxed look. Suddenly Bailey wasn't afraid anymore. She was content. The artifact did what it was meant to do. It fixed this family. Put the pieces back together harmoniously. She wondered idly what would happen now. Would she blink out of existence just like that? Or fade away and return to the future with no memory of her time here?

Her arm pulsed and she realized she must have been glowing. That was why everyone else was standing stock-still. Bailey smiled despite her pain and met everyone's gaze individually. With the last of her strength, she stood up straight and addressed the group in front of her. "No matter what happens…" she felt tears slide easily down her cheeks once again but continued strongly, "I just want to say I love you guys."

"We can fix this," Bailey heard Claudia force out through her tears.

Bailey smiled at the redhead's resilience, at the familiarity of it, at the passion and pure belief behind her words. "If we had more time, maybe," Bailey smiled sadly and inhaled deeply as she fought off the ever-encroaching white. "Promise me something?" she asked, her calm tone suddenly anxious.

"Anything," Pete answered firmly from his position next to Myka.

Bailey met his gaze, "Don't mess this up." Her lips curved upwards slightly, "because I don't think I could survive a second round."

Every single person in the room grinned and Bailey was thankful that was the last thing she saw before everything was lost in white as if she was watching a blizzard through the windows. A thought crossed her mind then, would they remember her, or blame the inevitable flash of white on a faulty lamp? But again, Bailey didn't have the willpower or time to care.

The bracelet had wanted a happy family. Bailey wanted to see them complete. But more than anything, as the heat engulfed her body and right before the white turned black, Bailey wished to she could see her family the way she knew and loved them.

…

Someone was yelling for her. The voice was crumbling and echoing strangely in the darkness but she could tell it was her name. They sounded scared, worried, but she didn't understand why. Maybe they were afraid of the dark and they didn't want to be alone, she pondered. She heard her name again, this time it was clearer but it still seemed far away. She tried to respond, she opened her mouth and everything, but her response never made it past her dry throat. The voice was getting closer, or at least, a lot louder and she tried again to respond.

Something came out, that she was sure of, but it wasn't anywhere near what she had meant to say. Her response of 'I'm right here' sounded more like a groan, or worse, a grunt. But the voice must have understood because now it wasn't just saying her name, now it was uttering sentences and questions that she discomfortingly found she didn't have the strength to answer, let alone try to decipher.

Another small groan escaped her lips and then it hit her, something _hit _her, on the cheeks, three times. It wasn't too hard but enough to startle her. Enough to make her realize _she_ was the one in the darkness; she was the one with her eyes closed. The other voice was trying to get her out of her reverie.

Suddenly her whole body felt heavy, every limb, every finger, even her eyes were a struggle to open. Ignoring the voice, she concentrated all her strength on opening her eyes. She recoiled slightly from the harsh light that flooded through the small cracks but once her eyes adjusted, she saw the blurry outline of someone leaning over her. He seemed to smile when she looked at him but his frown was still in place, still worried that she hadn't said anything back to him yet.

Then two things happened at once: one, she realized was lying on the floor and two, she hurt, a lot. Every muscle pulsed dully with each beat of her heart but for some reason, her arms hurt the most. A piercing pain ripped through her body when she tried to move her left arm and her right felt like it was on fire. That's when it clicked. Something bad happened, something horrible and she was hurt because of it. That was why she was on the floor and just coming out of unconsciousness.

Adrenaline poured through her veins and she used the momentary strength to sit up. Her arms screamed out for her to stop and she immediately felt light headed, swaying on the spot. Involuntary tears welled in her eyes at the pain, further blurring her vision and she felt like she was going to fall back to the ground again. But to her relief, the man who leaned over her before held her in place as she sagged against him.

His voice resonated through her body as he held her and maybe it was the proximity but she finally understood what he was saying. He was apologizing to her, sorry for what someone else – Alex? Anthony? Andrew? – did to her, to all of them. Sorry he couldn't stop him. Sorry he was too late to help. She couldn't reply, her throat was dry and her feeble attempt to swallow only caused her more pain. He seemed to notice and gave her a small squeeze, giving comfort in any way he could.

Other voices floated into her mind then and she lifted her eyes to see more people surrounding her. They all looked worried but thankful that she was okay. If she had more strength, she would have contradicted them, saying she did _not_ feel okay. In fact, she felt like hell, like a truck collided with her a few times, and she didn't know why. But instead of forming the words, she let the familiar sense of darkness consume her and let them figure out what that meant.

…

A pounding headache was what woke her. Before she even tried to open her eyes, the unnerving silence greeted her. There were no voices this time, just her scattered thoughts that told her she was awake. She was still lying down but this time she was more comfortable, like on a bed instead of the hard floor. The last thing she realized was how numb she felt. Her entire body still felt heavy but the pain from before had receded greatly, just barely hanging on to the edges of her awareness.

When she finally opened her eyes, no one was leaning over her and she could see the faint blue walls above her clearly. Moving her head slightly she saw she was in a familiar bedroom, lying on a bed with purple sheets.

Closing her eyes again, she willed her thoughts into some sense of organization. She needed to figure out what happened. The last time she woke she was on the floor, in pain, and there were people worried about her. But why?

She gasped as torrents of images, thoughts, and emotions suddenly consumed her mind. Darkness, anger, pain, fear and greed clutched her heart with clawed fingers until the light and heat and power unleashed it. Tears gathered in her eyes as scenes played out before her; memories that weren't hers, filled with heartbreak and sorrow, memories that she shouldn't be able to see, ever. She faintly felt the cool tears streak down the sides of her warm face as the memories finally changed. There was a man at the door; he lifted a hand and pain ripped through her chest before her back met a wall, breaking it to pieces. He was hurting her, threatening her family, lusting for ungodly powers and she was the only one with the ability to stop him.

White flashed behind her eyelids and she forced them open, sitting up quickly in the process. She was vaguely aware of crying out but the next thing she knew, someone wrapped their arms around her comfortingly and whispered soothing words into her ear. Sobs unwillingly shook her body but she was helpless to stop them as the images burned in her mind.

"Hey, hey, it's going to be alright, don't worry. Everything's going to be fine," whispered a soft voice that Bailey instantly recognized as her father's.

She reached around with her right arm – something was holding back her left but she couldn't be bothered to figure it out just now – and held tightly to his toned body, as if he were her only life raft in raging white rapids.

"Dad… Andrew – he attacked us –" Bailey choked out between sobs.

"You don't have to worry about that anymore," he assured her with a light squeeze, "He's gone."

Bailey nodded hazily as her sobs gradually faded to silent tears. She could still see him, even with her eyes open, his face contorted in rage, as he demanded the bracelet.

Bailey pulled away quickly and looked at her arm. There was a scar, a single band wrapped around her wrist with swirling tendrils branching off in a delicate pattern, but no bracelet. Her father took her arm in his and gently rubbed his hands over the fresh disfigurement.

"It'll fade eventually," he said, attempting to mask his sorrow and guilt. "But it'll be there forever."

Bailey stared in a daze for a few moments before finally looking up at her father, her hand still between his. He looked older than she remembered. His dark brown hair that was only marred by a few grays, that she proudly took responsibility for, stuck up in impossible ways and he had a few scratches that cut into his skin. He seemed to have a few more lines around his eyes but it was his expression that made him look older; it was one she rarely saw on him and was glad for it. It was full of grief and sorrow, yet relief. He just looked _tired_. His soft brown eyes remained downcast on her wrist, either not noticing her gaze or not willing to meet her tear filled eyes just yet.

"Pete took off the bracelet when… it's safe back in the warehouse now." Bailey watched as he formed and yet struggled with the words. "How are you feeling?"

Bailey's eyes watered once more at the pain and unshed tears in her father's eyes when he finally met hers. She swallowed in a failed attempt to stop her tears. "I'm alright. Just…tired," she breathed out and slouched to inadvertently prove her point.

He gave a small smile but the grief kept his eyes from shinning like she was so used to. A thought glided into her mind and she couldn't help but ask, "How long was I out?"

He swallowed and his eyes darkened a little more. "Three days."

Bailey's eyes widened. She wanted to ask more, ask how it happened, what happened while she was unconscious but the pain in her father's eyes made her heart ache for him. She couldn't imagine what happened between the fight and now. She had no idea what he went through but it was still fresh in her dad's memory so she decided not to have him relive it just yet.

"Does that mean I missed Thanksgiving?" She asked seriously.

Bailey's breath caught when he paused but her heart soared when he grinned. The light found his eyes again, if only a dim one, and Bailey smiled along with him.

"I think there's some leftovers," he whispered conspiratorially. Then laughed along with Bailey as he helped her out of the bed.

…

Although her fatigue and weakness made walking down the stairs difficult, Bailey wasn't going to let it get in the way of filling her stomach. Apparently sleeping for three days leaves you with a huge appetite. With her dad's arms around her shoulders, keeping her steady, she descended them one at a time. But she stopped short when she reached the dinning room.

They were all there, waiting for her like it was her birthday, sitting or standing in various areas of the room. Everyone. Artie was sitting at the head of the table, head full of gray; Leena, standing near the kitchen, waiting for the timer to ring; Claudia, leaning against the wall behind Artie, glaring at the pair of clutches she was holding out in front of her; Pete and Myka, sitting next to each other, holding hands and smiling gleefully at the rest of the group; and her mother, the first to notice the new arrivals and the first to frantically stride towards Bailey and envelope her in a hug the way all moms do when a lost child is found.

"Oh, sweetheart, I'm so glad you're okay," she said, teary eyed.

Happy tears flowed freely from Bailey as she wrapped her good arm around her mother.

The sound of rubber thumping on the wood floor announced Claudia's presence and mother and daughter broke apart when Claudia spoke.

"About time, for a second there I thought Jen was going to smother you. Of course, I also thought my brother was going to keep you upstairs and make us starve, so…" she trailed off with a smile.

Bailey wasn't sure whether to smile with her or frown, so she did both. "What do you mean 'starve'?"

"Thanksgiving!" Pete yelled from the other side of the table, startling everyone in the room. Myka lightly smacked his arm and rolled her eyes. Pete rubbed his arm but smiled at their routine.

A ringing sound came from the kitchen and Leena jumped out of her revere to get the turkey. Pete stood to help her with the rest of the food.

"Didn't think we'd eat without you, did you?" Myka asked with a knowing smirk and raised eyebrow at Bailey's surprise.

"But I was out for three days…" Bailey uttered in disbelief but a beaming smile graced her face as she added, "Didn't think you guys would have lasted this long."

"Well, you know," Pete said, reentering the room in front of Leena, with arms full of the biggest turkey Bailey had ever seen. "Full of surprises, us," he said with an exaggerated shrug.

The whole group laughed together at Pete's fake nonchalance.

"Besides," Artie's old, gruff voice cut across the laughter. "Can't have Thanksgiving without the whole family here." Artie smiled and Bailey beamed at him, sending and receiving waves of affection.

She couldn't possibly know for sure but she thought any other 'normal' family wouldn't be as fun or loving or as close as they were. Not for the first time, Bailey was thankful for the makeshift family she was born into. And she was positive that if she ever came across some sort of time traveling artifact, she wouldn't change a thing.

END


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